Harry's Summer Cold
by Healer Pomfrey
Summary: Harry falls ill at the Dursleys and as he can't get help, he's forced to bring himself to where he knows help is... AU, partly OOC, Neglect!Dursleys, Sick!Harry
1. Chapter 1

**Harry's Summer Cold**

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_All recognizable characters belong to __Mrs. Rowling__, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._

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**Chapter 1**

Harry woke up to his aunt's hammering at his door and shouting, "Get up you lazy boy!"

He quickly scrambled out of bed, changed his clothes and after a minute spent in the bathroom headed for the kitchen to make breakfast. Wearily he noticed that his uncle was already sitting at the table, waiting impatiently. He hurried to make toast, eggs, bacon, and tea, silently listening to his aunt's and uncle's conversation about their participation in a gardening contest.

"Today, you will paint the fence, boy," Vernon bellowed as soon as Harry was finished making breakfast.

"Hurry up, boy, you don't have all day. The bathroom and Duddykin's room have to be cleaned as well," Petunia added.

'_Well, it could be worse_,' Harry thought, heading out the back door to occupy himself with the fence. While he was painting the fence, which took hours with the small brush his uncle had laid out for him, his thoughts wandered back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he just had finished his second year a few weeks ago.

By the time the fence was finished, Harry's stomach was grumbling loudly, and on his way back through the fortunately empty kitchen he took an apple, which he devoured while he prepared everything to clean the bathroom. He grudgingly started to clean the room, wondering, '_How can they make the bathroom so dirty as if it hadn't been cleaned in a month? I only cleaned it the day before yesterday!_' Suddenly, he noticed that his throat felt a little scratchy. He swallowed a few times, thinking, '_Oh Merlin, please don't let me get a cold right now. Maybe I should drink some water; perhaps it hurts because I didn't drink enough._'

While he cleaned Dudley's bedroom as fast as possible, which was difficult as the room was complete chaos, he noticed that his head had started to hurt as well. '_Maybe if I'm quick, I'll be able to rest for a few minutes_,' he thought. However, as soon as he was nearly done with the untidy room, his aunt called for him.

"Hurry up and prepare dinner; Vernon is bringing a dinner guest."

Harry groaned inwardly and started to make dinner. "As soon as you finish, you will go back into your room…"

"… and pretend I'm not there," Harry quickly finished Petunia's sentence. He gratefully took the sandwich she handed him, headed up into his room and quickly ate the sandwich, noticing that his throat had become much worse. Harry sighed and began to do his Potions homework. However, he could hardly concentrate and his thoughts quickly wandered off to Hogwarts again. '_I'd like to know why Professor Snape hates me so much_,' Harry thought sadly, '_except for the fact that I seem to look like my father_.' Suddenly, he couldn't help letting out a series of sneezes. "Atchoo, atchoo, atchoo, heesshoo, heesshoo."

Harry threw a horrified look at the door, but apparently nobody had heard his sneezes and everything stayed quiet. '_Thank God_,' Harry thought and quickly lay down on his bed. '_I better try to sleep before I have to sneeze or even cough and the Dursleys' guests notice me._' Completely worn out from doing chores all day, he fell asleep within seconds. However, he woke up every now and then during the night, shivering from the cold, feeling much too hot, or having to cough vehemently. In the morning, he felt horrible and was still shivering in spite of the thick Weasley sweater he had put on during the night.

His aunt gave him a strange look seeing that he was wearing a woollen sweater on a warm summer day but didn't comment and gave Harry a short list with chores to do. "You will not come in until the garden is finished completely," Vernon roared.

Harry gave him a short nod and tried to concentrate on making toast without burning it. His aunt's warning that it would be better to do the garden first as the weather forecast was not good didn't penetrate his feverish, foggy mind, and Harry started to do the ironing first. Then he made the beds in all rooms and cleaned the floor in each room on the second floor. Late in the afternoon, he headed out into the garden and began to mow the lawn, which afforded a lot of energy, and when he finally started to weed the garden, feeling very ill and utterly exhausted, it starting to rain. 'Maybe I can make dinner first,' Harry mused and walked over into the kitchen, where his aunt was just getting ready to go out.

"Shall I make dinner?" Harry asked hoarsely, noticing that his voice started to fail.

Petunia gave him a disapproving look. "Look, you're making my kitchen wet. Clean that up before you head outside again. You know that you have to finish the garden before you can come in. Dudley and I are going to meet Vernon in town and will have dinner together. We will be back late, and I expect the garden to be finished upon our return."

"Yes Aunt Petunia," Harry croaked and quickly dried the kitchen floor before he left once more through the back door. He spent the next few hours weeding the garden, sneezing and coughing all the time. He was feeling hot and cold at the same time, and his head was swimming. However, knowing that Vernon's punishment would be much worse if he went to bed without finishing the garden, he did his best to comply. It was already dark and still raining when he dragged his heavy body back to the kitchen door – only to notice that it was locked.

Harry tried to open the back door several times, trying to remember if there was a trick to open the door. It took his foggy mind quite a time to realize that the door was locked from inside. He threw a quick look on his watch. '_Midnight_,' he thought horrified. He dragged himself around the house to the garage, seeing that the Dursleys' car was there and that the entrance door was locked as well. '_So I'm going to stay outside all night_,' he realized. Feeling utterly sick now, he just wanted to lie down somewhere, and he didn't even mind where. He slowly walked back to the kitchen door, slowly letting his achy body down to the ground, and fell into an exhausted sleep.

He woke up to his uncle's shouting at him. The words however weren't able to penetrate his sore ears, and without knowing how he had managed to climb up to his room, Harry found himself back on the floor in his room hours later, his whole body stiff and achy. Suddenly his aunt shouted for him from outside his door, "Come and make dinner, you lazybones!"

Harry slowly scrambled onto his feet, swaying a little, and slowly stepped down the stairs. He entered the kitchen and gave his aunt a hesitant look, while he couldn't stop a few sneezes from escaping his mouth. 'Atchoo, atchoo, heesshoo, atchoo.' "I'm sorry, Aunt Petunia, I don't feel good. May I go back to bed?" he asked quietly, hating how hoarse his voice sounded.

Petunia gave him a terrified glance and returned, "Go back to your room quickly before you infect the whole house."

During the evening, Harry's condition took a turn to the worse, and Harry was captured in fever induced nightmares involving magical animals.

Harry was standing on the Quidditch pitch, carefully looking around. He could sense the presence of something. Suddenly, a pink dragon came from the direction of the Forbidden Forest, heading directly to the lake, where it put up a short fight with the Giand Squid before it came over to him. Fortunately, Harry had his broom in his hands, quickly mounted it and sprinted away. However, the dragon kept following him and chased him all over Hogwarts and into Hogsmeade. Just when the dragon had managed to gave him a kick in the head, Harry woke up with a jolt, coughing and panting heavily.

'_I need help_,' Harry thought, horrified, noticing that he could hardly breathe. '_Have to go to Hogwarts, need to see Madam Pomfrey_,' he decided. '_If I only had kept Hedwig_,' he mused. Fearing that his uncle might hurt her, he had sent his owl back to the owlery at Hogwarts a few days ago. Lacking a better idea, he pulled his broom out from under his bed, opened the window, and mounted his broom like he did in his fever dream. '_No dragons around_,' he confirmed glancing around anxiously when he took off toward Scotland.

Several hours later, a half-conscious child reached the Hogwarts gates. He flew up to the entrance doors, hardly able to keep himself on his broom anymore. Using his last bit of energy, he opened the door and let himself in. 'There's no way I can walk up to the hospital wing; have to fly,' he decided and flew through the empty halls of Hogwarts. He dragged himself to a bed in the hospital wing, slowly crawling under the covers, while his mind slipped out of consciousness.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

Several hours later, Professor McGonagall was sitting at her desk correcting the end of year tests of her second year Transfiguration class. With a sigh she put away the last parchment, took off her glasses, and rubbed her aching forehead. '_I better go and get a headache potion from Poppy's shelf_,' she thought, annoyed by the headache that had been pestering her since she got up in the morning. '_It's time to head down for lunch anyway_,' she realized and swiftly left her office, heading down the stairs to the hospital wing. '_Good that Poppy's not there to pester me_,' she thought while she entered the large room.

Suddenly, she stopped dead in her track, seeing that one of the beds was occupied. She quickly walked over to get a glance at the person in the bed and let out a small cry. "Potter! What are you doing here?"

Not receiving an answer, she became worried and carefully touched the boy's neck, feeling for a pulse. '_Yes, he's alive_,' she thought relieved. '_But what happened to him? He seems to be unconscious_.' His cheeks were flushed unnaturally, and his sweaty hair was plastered to his forehead although the child seemed to be shivering. She carefully placed the back of her hand on the child's forehead and quickly pulled it back, horrified by the heat the boy radiated. Minerva conjured an ice-cold cloth, which she adjusted on the child's forehead, before she hurried over to the fireplace to call her best friend, Poppy Pomfrey, out of her holidays.

HP HEALER POMFREY

Poppy rushed over to Harry's side, quickly waving her wand over him several times. "Call Severus and tell him to bring the strongest fever reducer he has," she ordered her friend briskly, while she pointed her wand to a parchment on the night table that immediately filled with many thin words.

A minute later, Severus hurried to her side, a phial in his hands. "Lift his head, Poppy," he ordered and proceeded to let a light blue liquid dribble into the boy's mouth, moving his other hand along his throat to make the unconscious child swallow.

Poppy pointed her wand to the child's head to take his temperature and closed her eyes in relief. "That was close," she breathed. "Thank you, Severus." Seeing her colleagues' questioning looks, she explained, "His temperature was at nearly 43 degrees, which means he was nearly dead. Now it's down to 40.6. Mr. Potter has caught a bad case of pneumonia. I have no idea how he could get so bad and I can't tell if he will completely recover either. He will at least suffer from Asthma, which is not curable. Can anyone tell me how he came here?"

"Obviously with a broom," Severus stated coolly, picking up the child's broom from the floor next to Harry's bed before he gave Minerva a questioning glance.

"I have no idea; I only came here by chance to get a headache potion," Minerva admitted, absentmindedly rubbing her sore forehead.

Poppy gave her a piercing glance before she turned to Severus. "I need a potion against pneumonia for him, the strongest you can brew, please."

"Of course, Poppy, I'll be back in an hour," Severus agreed and hurried back to the Floo.

Poppy gave him a grateful nod and went to her office to retrieve a potion for Minerva and Floo-call Albus. While the two friends were waiting for the headmaster to come over, Poppy handed Minerva the headache potion, watching as her friend gulped down the potion and sighed in relief as the headache slowly faded into non-existence. Poppy unobtrusively waved her wand at her friend, muttering something to herself.

"We need to know what happened," Albus stated a few minutes later. "As soon as he is coherent, he has to return to his relatives. They will already be very worried about him."

Minerva let out a huge gasp. "If they were worrying about him, how come that he arrived here on his broom, nearly dead, Albus? He cannot return to his horrible relatives!"

"We will ask Severus to retrieve the information from Harry's mind, Minerva, but I can assure you that his illness won't be the Dursleys' fault. You know Harry, certainly he has done something unreasonable again."

Minerva gave her old mentor and friend a horrified look, unconsciously rubbing her forehead again, while Poppy watched her worriedly. "Minerva, I'd like you to lie down on the bed next to Harry. You are overworked and are running a slight temperature," she hesitantly advised her friend.

"See Minerva, do as Poppy says. You'll see everything will be all right," Albus told her, smiling.

"No!" Minerva replied shortly and sat down on the edge of Harry's bed, carefully stroking his flushed cheeks.

"I cannot do Legilimency on him while he is unconscious with such a high fever, Albus," Severus sneered when he came back with the requested potion and took the place Minerva had just vacated to make space for him, so that he could give Harry the potion with Poppy's help.

"You can and you will do Legilimency on him when I enervate him," Albus insisted and pointed his wand to Harry's head. "Ennervate."

As soon as Harry stirred and opened bleary, green eyes a little bit, Severus entered his mind, watching the last few days' happenings at the Dursleys, very careful not to hurt the already sick child more than necessary. '_How can people treat a child like that? His home life seems to be nearly as bad as my own_,' he thought confused and couldn't help feeling sorry for the child. While Poppy tended to Harry, he put the scenes he had witnessed into the headmaster's Pensieve, so that his three colleagues could watch them. In the meantime, Severus took a seat next to Harry's bed. "How are you feeling, Potter?" he asked in a soft, silky voice.

"De Dragob wabts to eat be," Harry complained, pointing to the far end of the room.

"Did you see a dragon over there?" Severus asked in concern. He had already witnessed several of Harry's fevered dreams, many of them concerning dragons.

"Ye," Harry replied miserably and reached out for the teacher's hand. "I dob't feel good edough to fight a dragob," he told the man pleadingly, while looking up into Severus' dark eyes.

"I know, Harry, you're very ill," Severus replied quietly and proceeded to sponge the child's face.

Suddenly, his three colleagues left the Pensieve and immediately began to have a livid discussion, the voices getting louder with each sentence. "Quiet!" Severus hissed, seeing that Harry had begun to whimper in fright. He squeezed the child's hand lightly and said quietly, "It's all right, there aren't any dragons. Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey are fighting with Professor Dumbledore."

"Okay," Harry mumbled and let out a few hoarse coughs, which pulled Poppy to his bedside.

"Then I need someone of you to become Harry's guardian," Dumbledore said in a loud voice, laced with a hint of anger, his eyes void of his normal twinkle.

"Minerva," Severus suggested.

"Oh Severus, I'm much too old," Minerva returned.

"I think Minerva and Severus should apply for the guardianship together," Poppy threw in. "Minerva's condition is not very good at the moment, and thinking of Harry's condition, in the long run it would be wise if he had a guardian capable of the most important healing spells."

"That sounds reasonable," Albus agreed. "Minerva and Severus, are you willing to accept the temporary guardianship over Harry until the end of the holidays?"

"I am willing," Minerva agreed and threw a concerned look at Harry, who had gone over into a semi-conscious state, mumbling incoherently about dragons that wanted to chase him in the rain.

"I agree," Severus echoed without any sign of a sneer in his voice.

"All right, then I will ask the house elves to add a room to your quarters, Severus, with an additional door to Minerva's quarters," Albus stated, and both teachers agreed.

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During the next days, Harry drifted in and out of consciousness, and he was delirious, constantly talking incoherently about dragons and other magical animals. Minerva, Severus, and Poppy took turns staying at his side all the time while his fever remained dangerously high.

One day, Harry's fever finally came down a bit and he opened his eyes, curiously taking in his surroundings. Minerva and Severus were sitting on chairs next to his bed, talking animatedly, and he found himself in a very nice room, painted in white and a light blue, in the most comfortable bed that he had ever slept in. Giving his teachers a confused look, he asked, "Where am I?"

"You are in your own room at Hogwarts," Severus replied softly. "The door over there leads to the living room of my quarters, and the door on the other side leads to Professor McGonagall's living room. You're free to access both of our quarters as you will be staying with us over the summer.

"Harry, you won't return to the Dursleys, at least not this summer. Professor Snape and I are your temporary guardians for the summer," Minerva explained, causing Harry to let out a huge gasp that immediately turned into coughs.

"Careful, child," Severus admonished him softly.

"Am I still delirious?" Harry asked quietly. "That sounds too good to be true."

Minerva and Severus watched contentedly as a small smile played on the child's lips.

_tbc…_

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_Originally, this was the end of my little one-shot. However, so many people asked me to continue that I decided to add a few more chapters._


	2. Chapter 2

_So many people asked me to continue my little one-shot that I decided to add a few more chapters – I don't know if you'll like this chapter though ;-)_

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** Chapter 2**

Two days later, Harry woke up with a jolt, panting heavily. '_Were those dragons? I dreamt something about dragons, but…_' He couldn't recall what made him wake up in such an anxious mood. '_Where am I by the way? I can't remember lying in such a soft, warm bed before_,' he mused, trying to remember what had happened.

When he lazily opened his eyes, he found himself in an unfamiliar room. Before he could look around the room to take in any details though, he noticed a black figure, sitting in a comfortable looking chair next to his bed. '_Death Eaters!_' was Harry's first thought, and he backed up in fright.

"What's wrong, Harry?" a soft voice asked, and Harry looked around wearily, unable to make out another person in the room.

"Why are you keeping me here?" he asked, noticing that his voice sounded hoarse. "Let me go immediately!" he croaked.

The black figure stood up to his full hight and leaned over to him, extending a hand to feel his forehead, enough for Harry to send him into full panic mode. '_Is that Professor Snape?_' he thought, horrified noticing that it was getting difficult to breathe.

"Harry, everything is all right," Severus said soothingly. "Breathe in and out; try to calm down."

"Calm down?" Harry breathed, getting even more upset. '_How can I calm down being kidnapped by Snape if not the Death Eaters?_' Harry thought panicking.

In the meantime, Severus had summoned a Calming Draught and held it out for Harry. "Here, Harry, drink. That will make it easier to breathe."

'_No, I'm not going to let myself being poisoned_,' Harry thought, finding that it hurt too much to speak. He pushed the phial away and scrambled out of the bed, taking a run for the next door. However, he was only able to make a few steps until dizziness overwhelmed him and he fell down on the soft carpet.

'_How can it be that he doesn't remember anything that happened during the last week?_' Severus thought confused, while he picked up the child from the floor and carefully put him back onto his bed. The boy's cheeks still looked flushed, and pearls of sweat were covering his forehead. Severus quickly spelled the Calming Draught into the boy's stomach and pointed his wand at Harry's head to take his temperature, just when Harry wearily opened his glassy eyes again.

"Now Harry, please calm down and let me explain," Severus said sternly.

Harry still had no intention to listen to anything the professor had to say; however, he felt so awful that he couldn't muster the energy to fight with the man. He just leaned back and closed his eyes, letting the teacher's words penetrate his foggy mind.

"Harry, what is the last thing you remember?" Severus asked worriedly.

Harry remained pensive for a moment before he whispered, "Being at the Dursleys, and sleeping outside in the rain."

"You don't remember flying to Hogwarts, being in the hospital wing at first, coming down here, staying with Professor McGonagall and me?" Severus asked softly.

"No. Why should I? I couldn't get away from the Dursleys to stay at Hogwarts. Dumbledore would never allow it, and you would never let me stay with you; neither would Professor McGonagall," Harry replied hoarsely, ending up in a coughing fit.

His coughs sounded very harsh, and Severus watched worriedly as Harry rubbed his chest as if to get rid of the pain caused by his coughs. "Harry, it's probably due to your high fever that you can't remember what happened. You flew to Hogwarts because you obviously noticed that you needed help, and your fever was so high that you came very close to dying. We only found you in time because Professor McGonagall came into the hospital wing by chance."

Dull green eyes looked wearily into the professor's obsidian eyes. "I don't believe you," Harry finally said and tried frantically to get up again.

"Harry, you can't get up. You still have a fever of nearly forty degrees and are in no condition to run around. Unfortunately, Professor McGonagall is sick and Madam Pomfrey has forbidden her to get up, but I will go and ask if she can come to ease your mind. I have to go and look after her anyway. Madam Pomfrey only comes once a day to look after you since she is on holidays."

"No, it's all right," Harry mumbled, uncomfortably shifting in his bed. "Don't make Professor McGonagall get up if she's ill." He slowly trailed off, and Severus noticed with relief that his breathing evened out and he seemed to be asleep, thanks to the Calming Draught he had spelled directly into the child's stomach.

He took a cool cloth and wiped away the sweat from the child's face before he carefully placed the cloth on his forehead and put a Spell on the boy that would alert him if Harry woke up. With a sigh and a worried glance on the child he stood up and walked through the connecting door into Minerva's quarters in order to check on his colleague.

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Minerva was sitting in her bed reading a book when Severus arrived. He gave his colleague a piercing glance, noticing that she looked much better than the day before. "I believe you feel better today," he asked, raising an eyebrow, and quickly waved his wand at his colleague.

"Yes, Severus, I feel much better today," Minerva replied, smiling at the thought how much her colleague had changed during the last week since he had discovered that Harry was not the spoiled brat he had always believed but had lived through a childhood similar to his own.

"Your fever is down to a slight temperature, and if you rest well today, I believe that Poppy will allow you to get up tomorrow."

"You don't think that I'll stay here all day, knowing that Harry is much worse and needs both of us to look after him?" Minerva gave her young colleague a stern look. "How is Harry? Any better?"

Severus sat down on a chair next to the bed and shook his head. "No, Minerva, he's not better at all. In fact…" He rubbed his forehead to get rid of a beginning headache, while he thought about how to explain what had happened. "He woke up an hour ago and didn't remember anything that happened since he spent the night in the rain at the Dursleys." Ignoring Minerva's gasp, he continued, "He obviously thought that I had kidnapped him from his relatives and was holding him prisoner. He tried to run away from me but collapsed after a few steps, so that I was able to put him back to bed. I spelled a Calming Draught directly into his stomach, which made him fall asleep a few minutes later. When I explained to him what happened, he told me he wouldn't believe me."

"Was he delirious again?" Minerva asked, giving Severus a worried look.

Severus sighed. "I had the impression that he was coherent, at least more than during the last few days, although his fever was up to nearly forty degrees again. He obviously wanted to shout at me but couldn't because his throat was too sore."

With a determined expression, Minerva threw back her bed covers. "I am going to sit with him, Severus. Even if he doesn't remember anything, he won't be as upset being together with me since we've always had a good relationship. Thinking about the fact that you didn't exactly like each other in the past, his reaction seems understandable, provided that he doesn't remember your change of behaviour towards him during the last week. Even without the high fever, his reaction wouldn't have been much different I suppose."

Severus smirked but couldn't hide his worried expression in time. His old teacher knew him too well. "Anyway, Poppy will have my head if I let you get up, Minerva. Did she say when she'll come over today?"

"No, she didn't. I don't know if it's worse to get into trouble with Poppy or with Harry. Anyway, give me a few minutes, and I'll come over," Minerva replied determined, while Severus, grudgingly, returned to Harry's room.

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Minerva sat next to Harry's bed reading a book, while Severus retired to his lab and used his free time to brew a potion Harry would need later. Two hours later, Poppy arrived, not pleased to see Minerva sitting with Harry instead of being in bed following her instructions. However, before she could scold her friend or listen to her colleagues about Harry's strange behaviour earlier in the morning, Harry woke up. Poppy quickly checked on him before she sat on the edge of his bed and quietly talked to him for a short while. "How are you feeling, Harry?" she asked, carefully wiping his hot, sweaty face with a cold cloth.

"Not so good," Harry mumbled, feeling absolutely awful. "It hurts to breathe."

"I believe that," Poppy replied soothingly. "Your fever is still very high, and you've are very ill with a bad case of pneumonia. I will give you your potions, and then you'll go back to sleep until lunchtime."

Five minutes later, Harry was sound asleep, his belly filled with potions. In the meantime, Minerva had called Severus, who informed the astonished healer what had happened earlier. Poppy shook her head in confusion. "Minerva, Severus, I'm sorry, but I have no idea what caused that. I assume that his fever will be the cause though. I just hope that the extremely high fever he had when we first found him didn't affect his brain," she said concerned. She watched the child's flushed face worriedly, until Severus called her out of his thoughts.

"What can we do, Poppy?"

Poppy sighed. "Frankly speaking, I don't have any experience with such problems. I will go to St. Mungo's and speak with a few people; I'll be back around lunchtime. Then we can wake him up and see if he is all right. Severus, did he act strangely? Or was everything completely normal except for the fact that he didn't remember the last week?"

"He was his normal, usual self; acting like an annoying little brat," Severus replied, smirking.

Two hours later, Minerva had just returned to reading her book after taking a short nap in the comfortable chair next to Harry's bed when Harry stirred.

_tbc…_

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_Thanks to Granger21 for beta-ing! However, as I am not a native speaker of English, you might still find mistakes – sorry for that! _

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Harry woke up and immediately started to cough vehemently. He hurriedly struggled to sit up in order to be able to breathe, not even noticing the kind hands that helped him to sit up. When he lay back, exhausted and breathing heavily, a kind voice asked, "Are you all right, Harry?"

Harry lazily opened his eyes wide enough to see his Head of House sitting next to his bed. He let out a small gasp and struggled to sit up again but felt himself being pushed back immediately. "Professor?" he asked confused. "What happened?"

Minerva gave him a concerned look. "What is the last thing you remember, Harry?"

'_Someone asked me the same question_,' Harry thought and remembered his encounter with Severus earlier that day. "Professor Snape. He was here?" he told the teacher, with a questioning tone.

"Yes, Harry; you are very ill, and Professor Snape and I are taking care of you," Minerva replied, trying to keep her voice calm and quiet in spite of the worry that seemed to overwhelm her mind, realizing that Harry obviously didn't remember the recent events. "Harry, as neither Professor Snape nor Madam Pomfrey are here at the moment, I have to take your temperature the Muggle way," she explained patiently and helped him to sit up again, before she stuck a thermometer into his mouth.

While they were waiting, she carefully explained to Harry what had happened since he had left the Dursleys. '_That's the same story Snape told me_,' Harry thought. '_Maybe he was right_.'

Minerva watched her student worriedly. He definitely looked even worse than the day before. His normally brilliant green eyes were clouded and dull from the fever, and he had dark rings under his eyes. Moreover, his flushed skin felt hot and clammy. "40.8," she read the numbers on the display, terrified to see that his condition had worsened from the day before. She was just pondering what to do when Harry pulled her out of her thoughts.

Glad that Minerva had finally taken the annoying icy-cold thing out of his mouth, Harry lay back and tried to relax in spite of feeling absolutely awful, when something near the foot of his bed caught his eye. '_Dragons_,' he thought horrified. He slowly averted his eyes to Minerva and whispered, "A dragon!"

"Where do you see a dragon, Harry?" Minerva asked absentmindedly, before she turned back her full attention to the child and followed his finger that was pointing to the foot of his bed. "Ah, no, there's no dragon, sweetie; it's your fever that makes you see dragons, but everything is all right; you're safe here."

Harry gave her a weary glance and closed his eyes in exhaustion. 

_"Come on," one of the dragons said to him. "You're too lazy; the Gryffindor team will never win the Quidditch cup again if you don't practise. Come and sit on my back, we will fly over the Quidditch pitch and train together." _

"_No, it's snowing outside, I don't want to ride on a dragon; will catch the Snitch on my broom," Harry mumbled back in fright._

"_Oh, I will make him obey," the other dragon fell in and climbed on Harry's bed to catch him._

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Minerva and Poppy, who had just returned from St. Mungo's, watched horrified as Harry began thrashing around as soon as Poppy sat down on the edge of his bed. She put a cool hand on his burning forehead, causing him to open his eyes with a jolt. "The dragons," he whispered, panting, "they want me to ride on their back to practise Quidditch, but I can't breathe."

"You'll be all right, Harry," Poppy told the child in a soothing voice, worriedly taking in his shallow breathing. "There are no dragons here, only Professor McGonagall and I. I'm going to put an oxygen mask over your mouth and nose now to help you breathing, all right, sweetheart?"

Harry gave her an anxious look and started to whimper, trying to pull the oxygen mask off immediately. "No, Harry, this has to stay put; otherwise we have to connect you to a ventilator, which will be much worse, believe me," Poppy told him sternly and watched the child drift off to sleep again. She glanced at the card on his night table and turned to Minerva. "I am very concerned. His fever shouldn't be going up; in fact, I had hoped that he was over the worst, but that doesn't seem to be the case. The pneumonia really seems to have taken hold of his lungs. I'm sorry, but I have to hook him onto an IV to get some nutrients into him, as well as a few stronger potions, which I brought from the hospital." She set up the IV with 2 drip bags hanging on a stand, carefully connecting it to Harry's hand. "He won't like this," she said regretting, while she softly brushed away the sweat tickling from the child's temple with a wet cloth.

"If he gets worse and has to be connected to a ventilator," Minerva asked concerned, "Will he need to go to St. Mungo's for that?"

"No, Minerva; I can borrow the equipment from St. Mungo's and treat him in the hospital wing. If he doesn't get at least a little better until tomorrow, I'm considering taking him with me," her friend said with determination.

Both of them nearly jumped startled when suddenly the door to Severus' quarters was flung open and Severus appeared. He stopped dead in his tracks upon seeing the medical devices attached to the small child. "Poppy, do you have any news?" he enquired, raising an eyebrow at the healer without even trying to hide his concern behind his normal blank mask.

"Yes, you can say that," Poppy replied hesitantly. "However, it's not easy to diagnose something. I have…"

She was interrupted when Harry suddenly began thrashing around again and feverishly tried to pull the IV out of his hand and to get rid of the oxygen mask, mumbling something of a dragon biting in his hand and breathing fire at him.

"_You should really come and play Quidditch with us," the dragons from before told Harry. "Look, how happy Professor Snape looks, knowing that you won't be able to win the cup over Slytherin anymore."_

"_I don't care; I'm so cold, and it's snowing outside," Harry mumbled back, shivering._

"_Oh, I'll make you warm," the first dragon replied, breathing a huge wave of flames at him that made him feel burning hot. When he moved his arms to push his bed covers away, the other dragon came and bit him into his left hand._

"_Ow, that hurts," Harry complained, trying to push the dragon away._

Poppy once more woke Harry up by placing her hand onto his forehead. "No, Harry, that's not a dragon's bite, that's a needle, and you may not pull it out; do you understand me?" she said sternly, trying to peer into his eyes.

"No," Harry replied, coughing so harshly that Poppy quickly took off the oxygen mask until he calmed down. "Professor, can you turn the heating off, please; the dragon breathed fire on me, and it's so hot," he whispered, turning to Minerva, causing Poppy to point her wand to the child's head to take his temperature.

"41.5," she said flabbergasted. "If it goes up any more, I have to take him to St. Mungo's." She made the liquid from the bag containing the fever reducer flow faster and closely watched the child for two minutes, until he sighed in relief and lay back again. Poppy turned to her colleagues. "You have to watch him closely, and Severus, you must check his temperature every now and then. We have to keep it down at any case. If it exceeds 41 degrees again, or if his breathing worsens, call me immediately. Otherwise, I'll come back after dinner to take turns with you, Severus, during the night."

"Poppy, he still doesn't remember anything about this last week," Minerva informed her friend.

"I spoke to several people at St. Mungo's," Poppy replied thoughtfully. "It is obvious that the extremely high fever caused his loss of memory. Apart from the fact that it was so high with 43 degrees that he can only be lucky that he's still alive, it has been continuing for too long. I know, it dropped a bit two days ago, but until then he had a constant temperature of over 41 degrees for five days, which is very long. According to my colleagues, this can cause brain damage but it can also cause the patient to forget things, even if the brain is not harmed otherwise. It might be that he will remember later on, but perhaps the memory will never return. Therefore, we have to keep a close eye on him during the next weeks, even after his recovery, and watch him for signs of brain damage or memory problems."

"So, Severus, you have to be very careful around him, then," Minerva spoke up. "He still thinks you hate him."

"Yes," Severus replied. He thought for a moment before he asked, "Can it be that the horror of seeing me at his side, finding himself at an unknown place, and thinking that he had been kidnapped by his enemies has aggravated his condition so much that his fever spiked like this?"

"It is probable," Poppy replied, putting a calming hand on her younger colleague's shoulder. "However, I have no clue why this memory problem occurred this morning after his condition had been improving for two days. All right, I'll see you later. Don't forget to take care of yourselves and to eat, and Minerva, you have to rest and sleep as much as possible; you're not fully back to health yet. When I come back later, you'll go straight to bed."

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

During the rest of the day, Harry didn't even stir once, and to the teachers' relief, his fever broke only an hour after Poppy had left. When Harry finally woke up in the middle of the night, Poppy and Severus were both asleep in their chairs next to his bed. Glad that none of them had noticed that he woke up, Harry closed his eyes again and let his mind wander to the happenings of the day before. '_Madam Pomfrey is with Snape now. Wasn't she here yesterday too? And Professor McGonagall was there as well. Maybe everything is just all right, and Snape told me the truth that I flew here to Hogwarts and they took care of me for a whole week. But why can't I remember? I only remember dragons breathing fire at me_.'

He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't notice that Poppy stood up and walked over to Minerva's quarters, only to come back a few minutes later. "Still worrying so much, Poppy, that you can't sleep?" he could hear Severus ask his colleague in an incredible soft voice.

"Yes, Severus; however, I'm also worried about Minerva," the healer replied. "The concern about Harry seems to have aggravated her condition. I'm going to keep her in bed today. Instead, I will take turns with you watching Harry."

"Do you still have hope that Harry might get his memories back, Poppy?" Severus asked, a slight hope sounding in his voice, while he stood up to exchange one of the bags with Harry's potions.

"I don't know, Severus. I suggest that we show him the memories in the Pensieve. Apart from that, the two of you have to start again from the beginning. I'm sorry, Severus, but I'm sure he'll come around. Harry will get to know you, and it won't take long until he'll be ready to forgive and forget just like he did last week."

"Professor," they suddenly heard a small voice, coming from Harry's bed.

_tbc…_

* * *

_Thanks to Granger21 for beta-ing! However, as I am not a native speaker of English, you might still find mistakes – sorry for that! _

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"I don't remember anything, but anyway, thanks for taking care of me," Harry whispered.

Severus glanced at Poppy, who gave him an encouraging nod, before he replied, "You're welcome, Harry. Are you feeling a bit better today?"

"Much better," Harry replied, prodding at the needle that was still stuck in his hand.

"No, Harry," Severus told him in a soft but stern voice. "You still have quite a fever and your lung is still infected. It hurts to breathe, doesn't it?" he asked, observing how laboured the child's breathing was. When Harry gave him a small nod, he continued, "You need your medicine that is dribbling down from the bags; they work better than the normal potions since they are much stronger. However, it's the middle of the night; try to sleep a little more."

"Okay," Harry mumbled and closed his eyes, glad that there seemed to be no dragons at the moment.

Severus sighed and picked up the cold cloth that had slid down from Harry's forehead when he moved. He quietly began to wipe the child's face that was still flushed and sweaty from the fever. Suddenly, Harry opened his eyes once more, startled to see his teacher's face directly in front of his own. "How is Professor McGonagall; what's wrong with her?" he asked softly.

"Professor McGonagall is overworked and suffering from a headache accompanied by a slight fever. She has to rest today, but then she'll be fine," Severus replied calmingly. "You gave her quite a fright when your condition took a turn for the worse yesterday."

"I'm sorry," Harry mumbled, lazily closing his eyes.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

During the next days, Harry's condition improved daily. In the meantime, he had got used to the fact that both professors were taking care of him and that Professor Snape's attitude towards Harry was completely different from his behaviour during the last two school years. One day, when Harry felt much better, he had a long conversation with Minerva.

"Professor," Harry began hesitantly, and, seeing that he held his teacher's attention, he continued, "I'm feeling so much better, I don't think it's necessary that you watch over me anymore. I've already taken too much of your time."

Minerva sighed. "That's no problem, Harry, and as you see I'm grading tests while I'm sitting with you. If you continue to improve, I'm sure Poppy will let you get up in a day or two."

Harry slowly averted his eyes to his teacher and asked hesitantly, "Um… Professor, will I have to go back to the Dursleys?"

"No, Harry," Minerva replied astonished; she only had talked to the child about that point a few days ago, but apparently it hadn't penetrated his feverish mind. "Professor Snape and I have the temporary guardianship over you until the school starts again. You have your own room here, which is connected to Professor Snape's and my quarters, and you are welcome to enter both of our quarters; you don't have to stay in your room the whole time."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry said, giving the teacher a grateful smile. He cleared his throat and continued hesitantly, "Professor, I have to go back to the Dursleys to retrieve my things though."

"Oh, Harry, your trunk is already here. Professor Snape went to get your things two weeks ago," Minerva explained, pointing to Harry's trunk that was placed at the foot of his bed.

"Professor Snape… he… eh…." Harry slowly trailed off, blushing terribly. '_Oh no; if he sees how I live…_'

"Harry, don't worry. Everything is all right. Fortunately, we could get enough information about your stay at your relatives to understand that you can't go back to the Dursleys during the holidays due to your condition…"

"Why? I'm fine already," Harry contradicted. "I mean, not that I want to return to the Dursleys, Professor. I'm very grateful that I can stay here with you and Professor Snape."

"Moreover, Professor Snape seems to have noticed that your home life is not so different from his own childhood. That's why he began to act differently around you, but don't tell him I said so," Minerva continued.

"No, of course I won't," Harry promised and let out a relieved laugh that soon turned into a coughing fit. "Professor?" he asked as soon as he had calmed down, "Can I get up for a moment to get my books and notes? I'd like to start with my summer assignments."

"Only if you promise to stop immediately when you start to get tired or feel worse," Minerva replied, giving Harry a stern look.

"I will," Harry promised and retrieved his school books, parchments, and a quill. He placed everything on the small table next to his bed and started to do his Transfiguration homework. After such a long time of sleeping, unable to do anything, he really enjoyed doing his homework. He was so engrossed that he didn't notice Severus entering the room and watching him for a while.

Harry only looked up when his teachers started to laugh and Severus stated, amused, "You look as if you liked doing homework, Harry."

"Uh, yes, sir; I like to do something during the holidays; it's just that the Dursleys didn't let me; they took my trunk away as soon I got there, so that I wasn't able to do any homework." '_I wouldn't have had time anyway since I had to do so many chores_,' he thought. "Last year, I could only start with my assignments when I was at the Weasleys' for the last days of summer holiday."

Severus quickly waved his wand at Harry, nodding contentedly, before he stated, "It's already dinnertime, Harry, do you feel that you are able to get up and come out into my kitchen for dinner?"

"Yes, of course," Harry replied, feeling a little uncertain about entering the teacher's quarters.

"You will join us, Minerva, won't you?" Severus asked, giving his colleague an encouraging nod.

"Yes, if you don't mind, Severus."

'_Just as if we were a small family_,' Harry thought happily when he sat down in the small kitchen in Severus' quarters.

To Harry's great pleasure, Severus called Dobby and asked him to bring dinner for two people. '_Why only two people?_' Harry thought in confusion. "Yes, Professor Master Snape, Dobby wills brings dinner immediately," the little elf promised, and seconds later, dinner similar to the usual dinner in the Great Hall appeared on the table.

Harry looked around the table in awe. "Are you awaiting guests, Professors? That must be enough food to feed my whole class."

Minerva and Severus laughed, and Minerva explained, "The house elves are so bored during the holidays, because so few people are staying in the castle, that they usually overdo it each time someone asks for something."

During the next days, Harry, Minerva, and Severus always ate together in Severus' kitchen. As soon as Poppy deemed Harry fit enough to get up, provided that he took a nap after lunch, Albus demanded that they should join him for dinner in the Great Hall on a regular basis. Not wanting to anger the headmaster, the little 'family' decided to obey and to walk down from Minerva's quarters on the way to the Great Hall and down to Severus' quarters on the way back as Harry still was in no condition to climb up so many stairs. '_Magic is really fantastic_,' Harry thought on the way, '_to be able to connect the quarters that are on top of Gryffindor tower with those that are in the dungeons just with connecting doors, having my room in between, is just brilliant_.'

So far, Harry had spent the whole day in his pyjamas, glad that his teachers didn't seem to mind, especially because he spent a large time of the afternoon in bed anyway. He was still suffering from the after effects of his illness, and the teachers often had to wake him up from his nap in time for dinner. However, as he couldn't head to the Great Hall in his pyjamas, Harry put the best of his jeans on that he had received from Dudley with a much too large black T-shirt and wore his school robe on top.

"Harry, there's no need to wear a robe during the holidays," Minerva told the boy when they returned to their quarters after dinner.

"Yes, Professor, but I don't have many things except for my school clothes," Harry replied in a very small voice, blushing deeply, which didn't go unnoticed by the professors.

"Harry, I don't think that your condition is already good enough to leave the castle; however, I promise that either Professor McGonagall or I will take you either to Hogsmeade or to Diagon Alley to buy proper clothes as soon as possible," Severus told the child.

"I don't think it would be too strenuous for Harry if we just went to Hogsmeade; I mean, we could take the Floo to The Three Broomsticks and just cross the road. Perhaps we could go together tomorrow morning?" Minerva suggested.

Harry and Severus agreed immediately, and in the morning, the 'little family' went shopping in Hogsmeade. Before they left Hogwarts, Harry asked anxiously, "Sorry, Professors, but how can I get money from my vault at Gringotts? I don't have any money with me."

"Harry, that's all right. Since we are your guardians, we are going to pay for proper clothing for you," Minerva explained.

Harry vehemently shook his head. "No Professor, it was nice enough of you to become my guardians and take me in during the holidays, but of course you don't have to pay for anything for me."

"Harry, Professor McGonagall and I have already discussed that and it is not negotiable," Severus replied sternly. "Now, are you able to go through the Floo on your own, or do you prefer to travel together with me?"

Harry gave the teacher a hesitant glance, thinking of his experiences with the Floo Network a year ago when he had managed to travel to Knockturn Alley, but decided, '_I'm not a baby, so I really should try it on my own_,' and replied in a small voice, "I'll be fine, sir."

Harry watched closely as Severus stepped into the fireplace, repeating the same procedure a minute later by himself. Just like Severus, he threw the Floo powder into the fireplace and shouted, "The Three Broomsticks." Since Hogsmeade was so close, he had expected the Floo travel to be very short; however, the world turned around himself in a way that made Harry feel absolutely sick, when he finally was thrown out of a fireplace. He wearily looked around at the naked walls and thought, "Where am I now?"

_tbc…_

* * *

_Thanks to Granger21 for beta-ing! However, as I am not a native speaker of English, you might still find mistakes – sorry for that! _

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

A mere second later, Severus stepped in front of Harry and pulled the child away from the fireplace. "Is everything all right, Harry?" he asked in concern, taking in Harry's pale face. "They seem to be renovating the place; I'm sorry, I didn't know that."

"Yes sir," Harry replied relieved. "When I arrived, I could only see naked walls and buckets with paint all around myself, so I thought I had arrived at a wrong place," he explained shortly, glad that everything was all right.

Two hours later, they were back at The Three Broomsticks, Harry's robe pockets full with shrunken shopping bags since his teachers had insisted to not only buy jeans and T-shirts but also underwear, socks, shoes, and pyjamas for him. Harry couldn't remember having been so embarrassed before. "Are you tired, Harry, or shall we have lunch at The Three Broomsticks, if you don't mind, Severus?" Minerva suggested.

Harry was too tired to feel hungry. "I'm fine, but not very hungry," Harry replied hesitantly.

"That's all right," Severus replied. "We can just order a plate of sandwiches and eat them together. And we could let Harry try Butterbeer, don't you think so, Minerva?"

"Hmm. Won't Albus have our heads if he finds out that we were drinking Butterbeer together with a student?" Minerva asked thoughtfully.

"No, because we won't have Butterbeer together with a student, Minerva; we are going to have Butterbeer together with Harry because we're his guardians," Severus replied coolly, adding, "Provided that Harry wants to try Butterbeer."

An hour later, they were back at Hogwarts, and Harry took a nap until Severus woke him up in time for dinner.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

Three days later, Harry had not only finished all his summer assignments but had also read through all of his school books from first and second year. When Harry, Minerva, and Severus had lunch together, Harry asked hesitantly, "Excuse me, but when will I be able to get my new school books? I've already finished all my assignments and have read through all first and second year books…"

"… And now you're bored, especially as you aren't allowed to go to the library on your own," Severus finished the sentence for him and continued, "I have two suggestions to make. 1. You can show us your homework, and we will give you some hints on how to make them better, so that you can improve all of your assignments, and 2. I can teach you potions if you'd be willing to help brewing simple Healing potions for Madam Pomfrey."

"Would you really do that, sir?" Harry asked astonished, and Minerva noticed happily that Harry's eyes shone with joy.

"Do I look as if I suggest things that I do not mean?" Severus asked, raising an eyebrow at Harry. "And by the way, as you're our ward now, I don't think it's appropriate if you call us 'Professor.' I've already talked about that with Professor McGonagall, and both of us would appreciate if you called us by our given names, Minerva and Severus, when we're alone."

"All right, sir, thank you very much," Harry replied shyly and went to get his homework to give it to the teachers. When he woke up from his nap later in the afternoon, Minerva and Severus had made so many corrections that he had to do all of his homework again. There were many passages Severus had marked, 'needs more research.' Fortunately, the professor had left notes on which book he should consult for each passage. Harry was so happy to have someone, who would correct his homework and helped him a little, that he didn't mind at all doing all the work once more. '_This must be what it feels like to have real parents_,' he thought happily. Three days later, he was finished and felt that his work was much better than it had been the first time.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

One day, when they were having lunch together, Minerva turned to Harry. "Harry, your birthday is in two weeks. What do you normally do for your birthday? Do you have a birthday party? Or do you prefer to go somewhere for the day? What would you like to do on your special day?"

Harry was totally overwhelmed by the question. The Dursley's had never cared for his birthday, and the only birthday present he had ever received had been Hedwig, his familiar, which Hagrid had given him two years ago. "I don't know," he mumbled hesitantly.

"You have never done anything for your birthday, have you, Harry?" Severus asked softly, and Harry nodded, relieved that the teacher was able to understand.

"Would you like to invite your friends?" Minerva questioned.

"I'd like to see Ron and Hermione," Harry answered in a small voice. So far, he hadn't been allowed to write to his friends or receive letters from them because Dumbledore was afraid that the letters could be intercepted.

"All right. Would you like to invite more of your friends? The boys from your dormitory or your classmates, perhaps? We could hold a party in the Great Hall if you want," Minerva told him.

Harry shook his head. "No, thank you. I still feel a bit tired all the time, and I just don't know if I'd be able to handle more people," he explained to his guardians, astonished that he was able to speak with them so frankly.

"What about Mr. Weasley's siblings, Harry? Do you want to invite them?"

"I suppose so," Harry replied, slightly uncertain if he wanted to have more people coming to visit him.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

On the next day, Severus made Harry sit in his living room and gave him a Potions lesson about the different kind of ingredients and how to prepare them. When they finished at lunchtime, Harry was absolutely exhausted but thought, '_That was just brilliant! Why didn't he give us that lesson in class?_'

"Now, are you ready to help me brewing potions for the hospital wing?" Severus asked at breakfast the next day.

"Yes, of course, sir; I'd like that very much," Harry replied eagerly.

Severus motioned the child to follow him into the Potions classroom and told him, "What we are going to brew today is the normal healing potion, which is the base for the most common potions." He laid out a recipe in front of Harry and motioned him to get the ingredients from the cupboard.

Harry quickly complied and was astonished when Severus was uncharacteristically patient showing him how to prepare each ingredient. Harry carefully began to brew the potion, and Severus only had to correct him twice. Once when Harry was just going to start stirring into the wrong direction and then when he picked up the wrong ingredient. "Very well done, Harry," the professor commended him when a clear, colourless liquid simmered in the cauldron.

"It was not difficult with your help, sir, eh… Severus," Harry replied, rubbing his forehead in order to get rid of the horrible headache that had been pestering him since he woke up in the morning.

"Headache?" Severus asked, watching the child in concern.

"Yes," Harry confirmed quietly and gratefully took the phial Severus held out to him. He noticed immediately that the potion only helped a little.

"Better?" his guardian enquired, unobtrusively pointing his wand at the boy to check for a fever or any other problems.

"A bit. Thank you, Severus," Harry replied.

"Maybe we should finish brewing for today and have lunch?" Severus suggested, while they were cleaning up their work space together.

"Sir, may I go and lie down for a bit? I don't think I can eat right now," Harry asked hesitantly, when they entered Severus' quarters.

"Yes of course, Harry," Severus replied and followed the child into his room. "Is there anything I can do for you?" he asked, placing a cool cloth on the boy's forehead.

"No, thank you, Severus," Harry mumbled, already falling asleep.

After a last worried look at the child, Severus walked over into Minerva's quarters and entered her office. "Minerva, it's time for lunch," he said softly.

"Oh, Severus, but I'm just…"

"No, Minerva, you have to eat lunch, and I won't be the one to explain to Poppy why you missed a meal. Come, please," Severus replied sternly.

"All right, all right, I'm coming," Minerva replied, slightly annoyed that her best friend had ordered Severus and even Harry to keep an eye on her.

"Harry is asleep by the way," Severus told her just before they entered Harry's room. "He had a bad headache, which apparently didn't clear up completely with a headache potion."

"Do you think something is wrong with him?" Minerva asked, watching the child in concern.

"We can only wait and see, but I don't think so. I checked on him, and nothing else is wrong," Severus replied calmingly and called a house elf to order lunch.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

Two hours later, Harry woke up. '_Ow, my head_,' he thought, wincing at the pain he felt when he moved his head slightly. Nevertheless, he opened his eyes and jumped in fright. '_Where am I?_' he wondered, panicking as he took in his unknown surroundings. As fast as he could in spite of his headache, he crawled out of the bed and left the room through the nearest door, glad to find that it was unlocked. Finding himself in a huge room with a large fireplace and book shelves covering most of the white stone walls, he opened all the adjoining doors until he finally discovered one leading into a hall. Harry glanced around incredulously. '_Am I at Hogwarts? It looks like the dungeons at Hogwarts_,' he mused.

Trying to ignore the feeling that his head was going to explode, Harry sprinted up the stairs towards the entrance hall until he noticed that it was getting difficult to breathe. '_Have to get outside; maybe I can breathe better then_,' he thought, panicked, letting out a few desperate coughs. Finally, he reached the huge entrance doors and let himself fall onto the stairs outside the entrance.

_tbc…_

* * *

_Thanks to Granger21 for beta-ing! However, as I am not a native speaker of English, you might still find mistakes – sorry for that!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

As soon as Harry left his quarters, Severus was alerted by the wards surrounding his quarters that someone had just left his quarters. He quickly put a Stasis Charm on the potion he was just brewing and hurriedly left his private lab to look into the boy's room, only to confirm that Harry was gone. Severus rushed to the fireplace, knowing that Minerva was not in her quarters but in her office in order to get some work done while Harry was asleep.

"Minerva, Harry has left my quarters; I don't know what happened, if he's coherent, or if he has lost memories again. Please take the Floo to the Great Hall and wait at the entrance hall; I'm going to take the path from the dungeons. We have to find him quickly."

"All right, Severus," Minerva quickly ended the connection and stepped into the fireplace. She arrived in the entrance hall just when the huge doors closed after Harry. Wondering if the child had gone outside, she opened the doors and saw the boy sitting on the steps. "Oh, thank God, you're here, Harry," she said relieved and sat down next to the child, taking in his shallow breathing in concern. Minerva put her arm around the boy's shoulders and advised, "Breathe slowly, Harry; everything is all right."

"No," Harry panted, "can't breathe."

Minerva didn't hesitate a second and called Dobby. Before the house elf could even greet them, she instructed him to fetch Harry's oxygen mask from his night table and inform Severus about their whereabouts afterwards. Seconds later, she fixed the oxygen mask over Harry's nose and mouth.

Harry leaned into his teacher's embrace, gratefully, noticing that it became a bit easier to breathe, when suddenly Severus burst through the door. "It's all right, Harry, concentrate on your breathing," Minerva whispered into his ear, while Severus sat down on his other side, giving Harry a piercing look.

"Do you still have a headache, Harry?" he then asked.

Something didn't seem right about that question, but Harry's foggy mind was not able to decide what was wrong. Harry gave he professor a slight nod, mumbling under the mask, "feels like being run over by a hippogriff."

"Harry, can you tell me why you left your room and went outside without telling Minerva or me? You know that you're not supposed to run around on your own yet, don't you?"

Harry gave him a weary look. "I don't know. Why am I at Hogwarts?"

"His forehead feels clammy," Minerva stated after putting her hand on his forehead to check for a fever. "Severus, what are we going to do?"

Severus quickly waved his wand over Harry and replied, "I cannot find anything wrong with him. Let's get him back into his room and call Poppy. Harry, are you able to walk back to the dungeons?"

"What? Why?..." Harry slowly trailed off. '_They obviously don't find it strange that I'm here, and what are they talking about 'my room'?_' he thought. '_Maybe I'm not really at Hogwarts but in my bed at the Dursleys, dreaming_.'

"I cannot take him through the Floo if he has breathing problems," Severus explained to his colleague and carefully picked the child up to carry him back to his room while Minerva hurried to the Great Hall to call Poppy before she stepped through the Floo to her quarters. There she entered Harry's room just when Severus put the boy to bed.

"Thank you, Professor; I'm sorry to be such a burden," Harry mumbled.

"Harry, you're not a burden to us," Severus replied sternly. "Can you tell me what the last thing is you remember?"

"I was at the Dursleys and had to paint the fence. No, that's not right; I was out in the rain, and the door was locked," Harry mumbled, trying to take off the oxygen mask, just when Poppy entered the room.

Severus quickly filled the healer in on what happened, while Minerva sat on the edge of his bed and put the mask away before she carefully wiped the cold sweat from Harry's forehead, quietly talking to the child.

Poppy waved her wand over the boy several times and finally said, "I have to take him to St. Mungo's; I don't have a clue why this is happening. The last time, it could have been caused by the high fever, but this time, he's completely healthy. I don't know why your headache potion is not working either."

"Wait, Poppy," Severus suddenly spoke up. "I have an idea. At the end of the school year, he fought against a Basilisk, didn't he? Did the Basilisk bite him perhaps? A Basilisk's poison could be the reason for his problems."

Minerva turned to Harry, who had his eyes closed and was feeling too bad to care about the conversation the adults were having at his side, and repeated Severus' question. "Yes, I was bitten but Fawkes came and healed me," Harry mumbled. '_That's all a dream, but I don't mind. As long as Uncle Vernon doesn't come in, I'll be fine_,' he mused, unconsciously leaning into the hand that caressed his cheeks.

"Poppy, can you take a bit of his blood, so that I can check it for poison, please?" Severus asked, summoning an empty phial, which he handed to the healer.

Poppy quickly apologized to Harry, worriedly noticing that he didn't even react, and took one of his fingers into her hand. With a flick of her wand, a few drops of blood dropped into the empty phial. "That's enough, Poppy, thank you," Severus told her as he hurried away to his lab.

"As much as I hope that Severus is not right, I hope that we'll find the problem quickly," Poppy said to Minerva in a small voice, watching Harry with concern.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

An hour later, Severus returned with concern written on his normally emotionless face. "His blood indeed contains Basilisk poison," he informed them. "The problem is that I need more Basilisk poison in order to make an antidote. However, Basilisk poison is not something I'm able to obtain at the apothecary." He let out a deep sigh. "There is only one method of obtaining the ingredient. I need to access the Chamber of Secrets, so that I can try to retrieve enough poison from the remaining of the Basilisk."

Minerva and Poppy let out huge gasps. "But how can you enter the Chamber? As far as I know you need to speak Parseltongue to open it," Minerva countered as soon as she had recovered from the shock.

"Harry, can you tell me how to open the Chamber of Secrets?" Severus asked the boy.

Harry wearily opened his eyes. "I can show you; I have to come with you; you have to say 'open' in Parseltongue." He remained thoughtful for an instant and asked, "Could I have a headache potion, please, before we go?"

Severus gave the child a horrified look. '_He doesn't remember that I already gave him one and it didn't work_,' he thought. '_Has he been thinking we watch him being in pain without giving him a Potion the whole time?_' He quickly strode over to his office and retrieved a special potion. It was the strongest headache potion he could brew, which he only used for himself in very special cases. He leaned over to Harry and told him, "Harry, I already gave you a potion; however, it didn't work. Try this. It's an extremely strong headache potion."

Harry threw him an uncertain glance but gulped down the potion and sighed in relief. His headache wasn't completely gone, but he felt much better. "Thank you, Professor," he replied and slowly stood up. "All right, shall we go?"

"I'm coming with you," Poppy declared.

Minerva gave them a worried look. "If you're not back in two hours, I will inform Albus and call for help."

"Maybe you better give us three hours, Professor," Harry replied. "It's quite a way down there. Oh, and that reminds me of something; we should take brooms with us to fly up on our way back."

Twenty minutes later, Severus was carefully inspecting the remaining of the Basilisk, while Harry was sitting on a huge stone where Severus had ordered him to stay, and Poppy was watching their movements closely. Severus took a few parts from the fangs and from other parts, where he knew that there was still a lingering amount of poison left, determined to speak to the child and suggest a harvesting of the Basilisk at a later time, once Harry felt better. If Harry wanted to sell the potions ingredients from the Basilisk, he would receive millions of galleons for them.

Back in the dungeons, Severus immediately began to brew the antidote, while Poppy and Minerva stayed with Harry and told him what had happened since Harry had left the Dursleys more than a month ago. Late in the evening, Severus arrived with the potion. "Here's the antidote," he told his two colleagues, who were still watching the child in concern, although he seemed to be sleeping peacefully.

"Let's spell it directly into his stomach," Poppy decided. "I'm glad that he's finally asleep, and it'll be easier to watch his reactions if he is asleep because he can't try to hide any pain from us."

Severus complied, and the three adults watched, how Harry sighed in relief only two minutes later. He immediately seemed to relax, and they noticed, relieved, that his face took on a slightly better colour. "Do you think that the poison really caused his memory problems?" Minerva asked worriedly.

"Yes, Minerva, I think so. However, if you ask me if he will get his memory back, I can't give you an answer. I don't have a clue," Poppy answered softly. "We can only wait and see."

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In the morning, Harry woke up feeling much better than he had felt the day before. However, he couldn't understand why he wasn't at the Dursleys anymore but at Hogwarts. Of course, Minerva and Poppy had explained something to him, but their explanations sounded so unreal; '_McGonagall and Snape as my guardians over the summer? That just can't be!_' Harry thought, feeling utterly confused. Apart from the meal times, when Minerva came to collect him each time, so that they could eat together in Severus' kitchen, Harry spent the whole day in his room occupying himself with his third year schoolbooks that Severus had owl-ordered for him a few days ago. Even if the two teachers were extremely friendly, he was not exactly sure how he was supposed to behave around them and therefore preferred to stay in his own room.

To his great astonishment, Severus ordered him to take a nap after lunch. Harry gave his teacher an unbelievable glance before he replied, "I'm not a baby anymore; I don't take naps after lunch. I know that you don't want to see me, but I promise that I'll stay in my room and won't get in your way, sir."

"Harry, apologize immediately!" Minerva interrupted him sternly. "You have no reason to be rude to Severus for being concerned about you. Madam Pomfrey has ordered you to take naps after lunch because you were very ill last month, and you will obey. Moreover, Severus has saved your life several times during the last weeks, and even if you aren't grateful because you don't remember it, you have to behave yourself."

"I'm sorry, Professor," Harry apologized straight away and returned to his room, suddenly feeling very drained. He went to bed immediately and fell asleep within minutes. When he woke up from a three-hour-nap, he noticed that his throat was sore and his headache was back, even if it wasn't as bad as it had been the previous day.

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"Harry, are you awake?" Minerva suddenly called out to him. "We have to go to the Great Hall for dinner."

"Yes, I'm coming," Harry replied and quickly scrambled out of his bed. "Does the headmaster know what happened, I mean with the Basilisk poison?" he asked on the way down to the Great Hall.

"Yes, Harry, we told him everything while Madam Pomfrey was staying with you yesterday evening," Severus replied and opened the door to the Great Hall.

"How are you, my boy?" Albus asked, giving the child a concerned glance.

"I'm fine, Professor," Harry replied, slightly unnerved by everyone's concern, and concentrating on eating a few bites of the delicious dinner.

"Is that all you're eating, Harry?" Minerva asked worriedly, seeing that the child was only playing with his food.

"Yes, I'm not very hungry," Harry replied apologizing, wondering why everyone was making such a fuss over him.

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During the night, Harry suddenly woke up by his own coughing. Unable to breathe easily, he quickly sat up but noticed that it was getting even more difficult to breathe. '_I can't breathe! What am I going to do?_' he thought, panicking.

_tbc…_

* * *

_Thanks to Granger21 for beta-ing! However, as I am not a native speaker of English, you might still find mistakes – sorry for that! _

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Before Harry could think of what to do, Severus strode into his room and sat down on the edge of his bed. Taking in that Harry's breathing was shallow, his hair was plastered onto his sweaty forehead, and his cheeks were flushed, he quickly placed the oxygen mask over Harry's nose and mouth while carefully pressing a cold hand against Harry's forehead, feeling that it was very warm.

"Are you feeling ill, Harry?" he asked the child in a soft voice, pointing his wand at the boy's head to take his temperature at the same time. "You seem to have caught a cold. Maybe we stayed too long in the clammy Chamber." He summoned a Pepper-up potion and pressed the phial against Harry's lips.

Harry suddenly felt a something cold pressed against his lips and heard the teacher say, "Swallow, Harry; this will help." He obediently swallowed the cool liquid, noticing that his throat was very sore. "Try to go back to sleep, Harry; I will stay here with you," he heard the soft, silky voice of his teacher again.

'_Why is he so nice to me?_' Harry wondered while he was slowly drifting off to sleep.

When Harry woke up in the morning he didn't feel very well. His head and throat were sore, and he was shivering a bit. He hesitantly opened his eyes, and saw that Severus was asleep in one of the chairs that were placed next to his bed. Harry quickly got up and went to the wardrobe to get one of his warm Weasley sweaters and pulled it over his pyjamas before he settled down in his bed together with his third year Potions book.

"Good morning, Harry," Severus suddenly said. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Harry replied. '_Why am I lying? Snape was the one to come and help me when I had problems during the night_,' he scolded himself immediately. "My head's a little sore though," he told the teacher.

Severus quickly pointed his wand to Harry's head. "You have a slight fever. It's only 38.2, but you have to rest as much as possible, so that your cold won't get worse. Since I gave you a Pepper-up potion during the night, I can't give you another dose so soon. You will have to wait until lunchtime." He looked piercingly at the child. "Do you feel well enough to get up for breakfast?"

Harry gave the teacher an uncertain look. "I feel fine, but I'm not hungry," he mumbled, noticing that it hurt to speak.

"All right; I will leave you now so that you can get ready. Minerva will come over for breakfast in twenty minutes," the teacher told him and quietly left the room.

'_Maybe I'll feel better after a long, hot shower_,' Harry thought and collected fresh clothes on the way to the bathroom in Severus' quarters. He stayed under the hot shower as long as possible, until he knew that he had to hurry up in order to be in time for breakfast.

When he arrived in Severus' kitchen, the two teachers were already waiting for him. In the meantime, Severus had filled Minerva in about the happenings during the night, and Minerva watched Harry concerned, especially as he didn't want to eat anything. When Minerva scolded him, "Harry, you have to eat something," Harry pointed out that he had consumed a whole pitcher of pumpkin juice.

"Harry, do you feel well enough to help me brew potions for Madam Pomfrey?" Severus asked, determined to help the child getting used to living together with his teachers once again.

"If you believe that I'll be able to help you," Harry replied hesitantly.

"Wouldn't it be better if we let Harry look into the Pensieve once more? We have to add a few recent memories though," Minerva suggested.

Severus sighed. "I know, Minerva, and I have already added several memories. It would be good if you could add some as well. However, as Harry has a headache as well as a slight fever, I don't think it would be wise if he retrieved the memories today, because it could aggravate his condition. We should wait until he feels better. I'm not pleased either. I have to check his blood a few more times to see if the poison is really gone, but I cannot do that while his temperature is higher than normal. On the other hand, I'd like to know if there was still poison left in his blood as soon as possible."

"Can't you give him the antidote once more in any case?" Minerva enquired, giving Harry a worried glance.

"No, Minerva." Severus sighed. "The antidote contains poison, which is good to counter any poison left in his body. However, if there is no poison left that has to be countered, the poison will harm him, instead of help him. That's why I have to examine the blood closely and have to take his blood when he is completely healthy."

"Atchoo, atchoo, heesshoo, atchoo. Ah, excuse be, Professors," Harry said, gratefully taking the tissue Minerva handed him.

"Are you sure you want to brew potions?" Severus asked, and when Harry gave him a short nod, he suggested, "Then let's go and start as soon as possible. I still have a lot of potions to brew."

Harry followed the professor into the Potions lab, and Severus noticed astonished that Harry was able to handle the ingredients exactly in the way he had taught him a few days ago. A few well chosen questions confirmed Severus' suspicion that Harry remembered everything practical that he had learnt during the last weeks. Knowing that the child was not in his best condition since his eyes were glassy and his cheeks were starting to look flushed, Severus decided to brew the potion by himself and let Harry only help preparing and adding the ingredients. Two hours later, a flawlessly brewed Pepper-up potion simmered in the cauldron, and Severus showed Harry how to bottle the potion into phials and what to write on the labels.

When Harry finished writing the last label, Severus had already cleared up their working space and told the boy, "I believe that was enough for today, but you can help me every morning if you want. At this rate, you will continue to improve on your brewing all through the summer holiday."

"I would like dat bery buch, Professor. Atchoo, atchoo." Harry closed his eyes for an instant and nearly jumped in fright when a slender, cold hand was placed onto his forehead. However, the cool hand felt so good that he unconsciously leaned into the touch.

Severus summoned a phial from the freshly brewed potions and held it to the boy's lips. Harry grudgingly swallowed the cool liquid, absolutely hating the steam that came out of his ears. However, he felt slightly better afterwards and even managed to swallow a few spoons full of the chicken broth Dobby brought him for lunch.

Seeing that the child was indeed eating a few bites, Severus gave him a thoughtful look before he pointed his wand at the child's head in determination and nodded contentedly. "Harry, would you mind me taking a few drops of your blood now?" He asked immediately, knowing that the boy's fever had dropped to an only slightly higher temperature than normal.

"Doe, I dob't bind,' Harry replied, extending his hand to the teacher. Severus quickly summoned an empty phial and collected three drops of blood. "Please excuse me, Minerva and Harry, I have to check on it immediately. Harry, please go to bed and take a nap; Minerva, could you look after Harry during the afternoon, please?"

"I'b fibe, add I'b dot a baby," Harry spoke up, sounding very upset. "I dob't beed abyobe look after be."

Severus sighed. "Harry, as long as we cannot be sure that all of the poison is gone, you need someone to look after you, especially if you're sick and are having breathing problems so frequently."

"Of course I will look after Harry, Severus," Minerva said warmly. "Will Poppy come around later?"

"I'm not sure," Severus replied, already heading in the direction of his lab. "If anything is wrong with Harry, call her immediately, please."

"Of course I will," Minerva replied and motioned Harry to go to bed.

Harry slowly changed into his pyjamas and put the Weasley sweater next to his pillow, in case he needed it later on. Then he crawled into bed, glad to be able to lie down, and sank into an exhausted sleep after letting out a series of sneezes. When he woke up due to his coughs two hours later, Minerva, who had been working at Harry's desk, came over to help him sit up, so that he could breathe properly. Harry lazily blew his nose and put his Weasley sweater over his pyjamas, before he lay down again, causing Minerva to watch him in concern, taking in the flushed spots on his white face and the sweat that was starting to dribble from his temples.

"Harry, how are you feeling?" Minerva asked carefully, scolding herself for asking such a stupid question.

"Dot so good," Harry replied, noticing that his voice was getting hoarse.

"I hope you'll feel better soon. You know that the day after tomorrow is your birthday, don't you, sweetie?"

Harry gave the teacher a weary look and slightly shook his head. "Doe, I didb't dow dat, Professor. But by birday's dot iportat."

Minerva sighed. They already had that conversation. "No Harry, I disagree. Your birthday is as important as everyone else's. Therefore, I have invited Ms. Granger and the four youngest Weasleys to spend the afternoon with you."

"I get to see by frieds de day after toborrow?" Harry asked incredulously. "Tabk you very buch, Professor."

"You're welcome, Harry. Now, let me help you sit up, so that you can blow your nose and we can take your temperature," Minerva told the child, extended a helpful hand and arranged the pillows behind his back so that he could lean into them.

Harry felt the cold thing stuck in his mouth and groaned inwardly. '_Yes, I know that I don't feel well today, but do they always have to make such a fuss?_' he thought annoyed. While they were waiting, Minerva sat next to Harry, taking his hand into her own, and told the boy about the planning for his birthday party until suddenly the Floo in Severus' living room flared and they could hear the headmaster's voice, "Minerva, Severus, is any of you there?"

Minerva gave Harry a concerned look and quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, Harry, I'll be back in a minute."

Harry lightly squeezed her hand and tried to give her a comforting smile around the thermometer that finally beeped shortly after Minerva had left the room. He took it out and examined the figures on the display. '39.3' it read. He switched it off as he had seen Minerva do before and put it aside before he lay back, trying to get warm under his covers.

"How high was your temperature?" Minerva asked gently when she returned a few minutes later.

"38.0," Harry lied. '_Why am I lying?_' he began to think as soon as the words had left his mouth. '_I really feel sick, but I don't want everyone to make such a fuss_,' a small inner voice replied.

Minerva sighed. That was better than she had expected from the child's sickly appearance. "All right, Harry; do you feel well enough to go to the Great Hall? Professor Dumbledore just called me to tell that we had to come to dinner on time because the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher has arrived today and will have dinner with us. He was a good friend of your parents."

"Really?" Harry asked, trying to look as enthusiastic as he could. "Do I only have to eat a bit of soup, Professor?" he added, giving his Head of House a pleading look.

"Yes sweetie, that's fine. By the way, Harry, please call us Severus and Minerva during the holidays. You did so all the time before."

"All right, thank you, um… Minerva. Should I get ready then?"

"Just get up," Minerva replied. When the boy complied, she pointed her wand at him, exchanging his pyjamas with the clothes he wore in the morning. "How's that?"

"Thank you very much, u… Minerva," Harry replied gratefully.

Suddenly, Severus strode into the room. "Severus, we have to hurry down to dinner. Remus Lupin has arrived, and Albus called to tell us to be on time," Minerva informed him.

"All right Minerva," Severus confirmed before he asked sternly, "How is Harry? Does he have a fever?"

"A few minutes ago it was 38.0," Minerva replied, giving her colleague a questioning glance.

Severus sighed. "Let me think for a moment. There is poison left in his blood, and I have to administer the antidote again, which can be very dangerous if he has a fever. However, 38.0 is not too high, so maybe…" He slowly trailed off, deep in thoughts.

_tbc…_

* * *

_Thanks to Granger21 for beta-ing! However, as I am not a native speaker of English, you might still find mistakes – sorry for that! _

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"No. Sorry, Minerva, Harry, but I'm not sure if I can give the antidote right now. I have to ask Poppy," Severus finally decided.

"Severus, can you do that when we come back? Albus just requested us to be on time for once! And as Harry's condition is not the best, we cannot run down the whole way."

Severus looked at Harry, taking in how ill the boy looked. His cheeks were flushed, and pearls of sweat were covering his pale face, making his hair stick to his forehead. He gave the glassy green eyes a piercing look and decided, "No Minerva, we cannot walk down there. We are going to take the Floo tonight. Harry is in no condition to walk so far."

"But you know that the internal Floo won't transport students, don't you?" Minerva replied.

"I will take him with me," Severus said curtly and motioned for Harry to follow him.

Harry slowly followed the teacher but after a few steps he ended up in a coughing fit, noticing that his coughs were getting harsh and began to hurt his chest. Once he finished coughing, he felt so exhausted and dizzy that he looked hesitantly at Minerva and Severus. "I'm sorry, but I don't feel so good. May I stay here?" he asked in a small voice, averting his eyes in the direction of Severus, who just came up to him, eying him in concern.

"Yes, of course you may stay here, if you don't feel well. Minerva, I'm going to remain with Harry. Please give Albus and Lupin my apologies," Severus replied immediately.

"All right, Severus. Albus won't like it though."

"He has accepted that we have taken Harry in, so he must accept that we will look after him, too. You can invite them to have dinner in your kitchen, so that I'd be able to join you."

Minerva let out a small snort and stepped into the fireplace. In the meantime, Harry had crawled back into bed and Severus quickly followed him into his room waving his wand at the child before he sat down on the edge of his bed, giving the boy a concerned look.

"Harry, you have to be careful. If you don't feel well, then tell us so and stay in bed. Your fever is much higher now, and your cold has turned into bronchitis." He sighed. "You really have to try hard to get better quickly now, because I have to give you the antidote against the poison at least once more, which I can't do if you're so ill. Moreover, Minerva and I want you to watch our memories of the last weeks in a Pensieve, which you can't do in your condition either."

"And the day after tomorrow my friends will come," Harry added in a small, hoarse voice.

"Exactly," Severus agreed and placed a cool cloth on Harry's forehead before he continued, "Harry, I have to Floo-call Poppy and ask her if I can give you the same potion as the last time. I'll be back soon."

"All right, s… Severus," Harry replied, already closing his eyes.

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A few minutes later, Poppy entered Harry's room and confirmed everything Severus had found out. "Yes, you may give him the potion against lung infection, Severus, and you were right not to give him the antidote right now. We have to take turns staying with him again. There is a chance that he could lose his memory again at any time."

"Yes, Poppy, I am aware of the situation," Severus replied sternly.

"How are you faring so far, Severus?" Poppy asked softly.

"He's adapting well. He even helped me brewing a batch of Pepper-up potion for you today. He doesn't have his memories, but he seems to have noticed that I do not intend to harm him. However, I'm afraid of what might occur if it happens again. To handle him after losing his memories is much worse than comforting him when he's delirious and thinks you're a dragon breathing fire at him."

"I know, Severus, but I'm only a Floo-call away. I can stay here, with you, again if that's easier for you. These chairs are very comfortable to sleep in. Nevertheless, I'll be back in a few hours."

"All right. Thank you, Poppy," Severus replied, giving his friend and colleague a grateful look.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

On Harry's birthday, his illness was at its peak. Harry was delirious with a high fever, he could only whisper since his throat hurt too much, and every few hours he had to use the oxygen mask because he was having breathing problems.

Minerva had waited until that morning to cancel his birthday party, hoping that Harry's condition would improve just in time. However, when she took the thermometer back from the child and saw the numbers 40.1, she let out a deep sigh and went to the fireplace to contact the Weasleys and cancel Harry's party. Hermione and Ron insisted they visit Harry though, and Minerva, grudgingly, allowed her students to Floo over to her quarters. She gave them a potion Severus had prepared especially for them, which would prevent them from catching the illness from Harry and allowing them to go into the child's room.

Hermione sat down on the edge of Harry's bed, while Ron took one of the chairs. Minerva informed them that they only had to call for Severus or her if problems arose, and Hermione answered politely, "Yes, thank you, Professor." While Minerva left the room, Hermione carefully stroked Harry's hot cheeks and asked, "Hey Harry, are you awake? It's us, Ron and Hermione! We wanted to say 'Happy Birthday' to you, sweetie."

Harry blinked. '_I know that voice_,' he thought, looking around in confusion, seeing two dragons next to his bed. 'T_hat dragon speaks with Hermione's voice_,' he recognized and gave the dragon next to him a small smile. '_It said something about my birthday_,' he mused. '_But then, it should be Hermione herself not a dragon, or perhaps the dragon has eaten Hermione. Oh, I don't know anymore_,' he frowned in frustration. However, he whispered a small "Thank you" to the living being sitting next to him.

"Hey mate, how are you?" Ron asked and pointed to a pile of presents lying on the night table. "Can you sit up and open your presents?"

Harry tried to hear what the dragon with the red hair told him, but the confusion about the fact that the dragon was talking with his best friend's voice prevented his feverish mind from taking in the words. He let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes.

Just when Hermione and Ron were exchanging a worried look, Severus strode into the room, stopping dead in his tracks at the sight of the two students sitting with Harry. "Good morning, Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley. That's indeed a surprise." He quickly waved his wand over the sick child.

'_Severus_,' Harry realized, and a small smile started to play on his lips. "Severus," he repeated aloud. "So many dragons here," he complained in a raspy voice, keeping his eyes closed since he knew that Severus would look like a dragon too.

"Ah, but Harry, they are not dragons; they are your friends. Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley came to visit you because it is your birthday. Here, Harry, sit up and drink your potions for me. Maybe you'll feel better and will be able to speak with your friends." Severus took the spot next to Harry, which Hermione had just vacated for him, and pulled Harry up into a half-sitting position, so that he could take his potions, and pressed a phial against his lips.

After Harry had taken both potions, he was a lot more coherent and able to recognize his friends and talk to them. He told them about the basilisk poison and how it made him lose his memories already once or twice. "I'm not exactly sure what happened. Minerva told me I came to Hogwarts on my broom because I was ill and wanted to see Madam Pomfrey. That sounds like a fairy story, and I somehow can't believe I would do that but I don't know anything else. And Minerva and Severus took me in and nursed me back to health. They even corrected my homework, and Severus has been trying to teach me Potions."

"You must be delirious," Ron threw in. "Snape teaching you Potions? And you call them by their first names?"

"Ron!" Hermione admonished her friend sharply.

"They want to show me their memories in the Pensieve, but that doesn't work when I have a fever, so I just have to wait."

"Do you think they might let us see the memories?" Hermione asked thoughtfully.

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. You would have to ask Severus. He'll be in his lab. Just enter the living room, and the lab is the one with the black door."

Ron let out a snort. "Does he have anything but black doors?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes, the kitchen door is green, the bathroom door yellow, and the one to his bedroom dark blue. My door is light blue I think."

"Yes, it is," Hermione replied, pointing to the open door. "But Harry, we cannot just enter a teacher's quarters. You can, because you're their ward, but I cannot do that."

Harry sighed and quickly scrambled out of his bed to the side nobody was sitting and toddled over into Severus' quarters, ignoring Hermione's efforts to hold him back. "Harry!" Severus let out a small shout. "What's wrong? What are you doing out of bed?"

"Sorry, Severus, but Hermione wants to look into the Pensieve if that's all right, and she didn't want to enter your quarters to ask you," Harry explained quickly, leaning exhaustedly into the teacher's robes.

"Yes, they may watch the memories, but you must not get up. Do you understand me, Harry?" Severus asked sternly before he scooped up the boy into his arms and put him back to bed, tucking him in carefully before he turned to Hermione. "Please do not let him get up. You may watch the memories if you wish. Please follow me." He led the two students into his living room and placed the Pensieve on the table in front of them before he returned to Harry's side.

"Happy birthday, Harry," Severus said softly, causing Harry to open his glassy eyes and give him a blurred look.

"Thank you, s… Severus," Harry replied smiling and automatically took the small package that Severus handed him. What's this?" he asked confused, eying the small box, wrapped in dark green paper with small Snitches flying around it.

"What does it look like?" Severus asked smirking. "A birthday present perhaps? I suggest you open it and have a look."

Harry carefully opened the beautiful paper, and let out a small gasp that unfortunately turned into a coughing fit. "You better stop gasping, since your gasps always end up in coughing fits," the teacher admonished slightly, while holding out a glass of water, which the boy gulped down greedily. "It is a family heirloom of the Prince family, my mother's family." He pointed to his own neck. "I am wearing a similar necklace with the matching pendant. They are invisible to everyone except the owners. In case you're in danger, the snake on your pendant will communicate with the one on mine, who will, in turn, alert me to what's wrong with you. Of course it also works in the opposite direction."

"But…" Harry gave his guardian an unbelieving look, seeing that the man was smiling down at him. "Thank you, Severus," he said hoarsely, smiling back.

"You're welcome," Severus replied, and took the necklace from Harry to fasten it around his neck.

Suddenly, Harry began to cry.

_tbc…_

* * *

_Thanks to Granger21 for beta-ing! However, as I am not a native speaker of English, you might still find mistakes – sorry for that! _

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"Now now, don't cry, Harry; it will only aggravate your condition," Severus told him in his soft, silky voice, which was able to calm down the child in a blink. "What's wrong?" he asked in concern.

"Nothing," Harry sobbed. "It's just…," sob, "it's just… I'm so happy."

"Come on, Harry, you need to stop crying," Severus said softly, rubbing the child's back, when his sobs turned into harsh coughs.

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At the same moment, Minerva, Hermione, and Ron entered the room from different directions, watching the scene. While Minerva's expression changed to an understanding smile, Hermione looked at Harry and Severus in awe, while Ron seemed ready to murder someone. "What happened?" Minerva asked when Harry finally calmed down.

"Nothing really," Harry mumbled. "I'm just so happy here. Nobody has ever cared about my birthday or looked after me when I was sick or sad, and…," he let out a few coughs, "… it just feels good. Thank you, all of you."

"I'm sorry, Harry," Minerva replied in a soft voice. "Please believe me when I tell you that we'd have taken you away from your relatives much earlier, if we'd known how they treated you."

"Don't worry, mate; if Dumbledore makes you go back there next summer, the twins and I are going to kidnap you right away," Ron promised.

"Ron!" Hermione saw fit to scold her friend immediately.

"Do you believe it wise to say something like that in front of Professor Dumbledore's colleagues, Mr. Weasley?" Severus asked with a hint of sneer in his voice before he turned to Minerva. "I believe that Harry won't have to go back to the Dursleys, Minerva, will he?"

"Not if I can help it, Severus," Minerva replied, feeling very protective of her ward. '_If only Albus wasn't so stubborn_,' she thought, sighing, before she remembered, '_We should retreat and leave the students to themselves for a while_.'

"Minerva, I believe Harry is in dire need of a nap, since his fever is spiking again but it's still too soon for his next dose of potion. Perhaps you could take your students to the Great Hall for lunch, seeing that it's nearly lunchtime."

"That's a good idea," Minerva agreed and turned to her students. "Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley, shall we do as Professor Snape suggested? Only Professors Dumbledore and Sprout as well as our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lupin, will be there though."

"That's fine with us," Hermione replied immediately. "Harry needs to rest anyway, although we'd be grateful if we could speak to him a bit more later on."

"Are you sure you'll be all right here, Severus? Weren't you in the middle of a brewing process?" Minerva suddenly remembered.

"Ah, yes, but that potion is already ruined. I'll just have to start again later on," Severus reassured her, and Hermione noticed in awe that the edges of his mouth pulled up slightly.

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When Hermione and Ron returned to Harry's room, they found their friend fast asleep. "Any news?" Minerva questioned Severus, who was reading a book.

"No, Minerva, I had to wake him up from nightmares a few times, but apart from that he has been sleeping peacefully the whole time. I can wake him up and give him his next dose of potions now, so that he can speak with his friends for a while. However…," he gave the students a stern look, "… Professor McGonagall will come and see you out in an hour." Seeing that Ron made a face, he added in a much sterner voice, "Be glad that Madam Pomfrey is not here, Mr. Weasley; she wouldn't allow Mr. Potter to have visitors at all in his condition."

"Yes of course, sir. Thank you very much, Professors," Hermione replied politely, giving Ron a light kick in the shins.

Harry woke up with a jolt when one of the dragons that were keeping him company breathed ice onto his forehead, which the other dragon just had burned shortly before. Only when he lazily opened his eyes did he notice that an ice-cold hand was lying on his forehead, belonging to Severus. He let out a contented sigh, already closing his eyes again. "No Harry, don't go to sleep yet, you have to take your potions. Not to mention that Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley are here for you," Severus' voice penetrated his foggy mind, and Harry once more opened his eyes.

Severus quickly helped him to sit up and swallow his potion before he checked the child's temperature and gave Minerva a short nod. "Call us if he needs help," Severus told Hermione before he retreated to his lab to restart the potion he intended to brew, knowing that he needed a few hours without disturbance.

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"Harry, please tell us, if you feel worse, okay?" Hermione asked, and Harry gave her a small smile.

"It's all right, Hermione, thanks," he reassured his friend, trying to sound as fit as possible.

"Harry, what's the last thing you remember?" Hermione enquired.

Harry let out a small sigh. "I remember being at the Dursleys, and then I was here all of a sudden with Minerva and Severus around me, telling me they were my guardians over the summer." He slowly trailed off.

Hermione and Ron took their time to fill their friend in about the memories they had witnessed in the Pensieve. Harry listened intensely, at least as far as their words could penetrate his foggy mind. '_That sounds like the stories Minerva and Severus told me. I'll just have to believe it then, as unbelievable as it sounds_,' Harry mused. Suddenly, he noticed that the dragons were back and let out a groan.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked immediately, giving Harry a concerned look.

"Ah, it's all right," Harry whispered. "It's just that the dragons are back. Look over there, at the door. You don't have to be afraid, I don't think they will hurt you, they only come to chase me around the Quidditch pitch and breathe fire and ice on me," Harry explained hoarsely.

"No Harry, there aren't any dragons," Ron told him, astonished.

"It's all right, Harry, we will take care of you," Hermione said calmingly, before she turned to Ron and whispered, "Please go and get Professor McGonagall, tell her that he's delirious." Hermione sat down on the edge of Harry's bed, noticing that he backed away in fright. "No, Harry, I'm not a dragon, I'm Hermione," she reassured him and started to bathe his burning face with the cool cloth from his night table. '_It seems to be charmed to stay cool_,' she thought amazed. '_I'm not even sure if we're allowed to do magic at Hogwarts during the summer holidays_.' She stood up when Minerva and Ron entered the room, making space, so that Minerva could tend to her friend.

"Harry, are the dragons back?" Minerva questioned the child in a soft voice.

"Ye," Harry let out. "I just helped Pfessor Snape brew a potion, and then the dragons came and breathed fire into my cauldron, and the fire exploded over me. Now I'm all sore and hot," he whispered, sounding hoarse and miserable.

"Oh, my poor child! Look sweetie, I have to take your temperature. Can you please open your mouth for me, Harry?" Minerva coaxed the child and quickly stuck the thermometer under his tongue as soon as he complied. "I'm afraid you have to leave," she turned to her students. "He is delirious, and his fever seems to be a bit high right now."

"Will he be all right, Professor?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"Of course, Ms. Granger," Minerva replied crisply. "If he gets worse, I'm going to call Madam Pomfrey. It's just a pity that he is so ill on his birthday."

"Professor, you will prevent him from going back to the Dursleys, won't you?" Hermione asked in a small voice, giving her favourite teacher a pleading look.

"Of course I will, my dear," Minerva promised firmly. "It's their fault that he is so sick. They didn't treat his cold while it was just a cold. On the contrary, they made him sleep in the rain, and by the time he arrived here, he had such a bad lung infection that his lung has sustained permanent damage. Therefore, he's susceptible to colds and other types of illnesses. 40.6," she sighed, taking the thermometer back.

Hermione stood up immediately, giving Ron a kick in the shins, and turned to the teacher. "Thank you, Professor, for letting us visit with Harry. May we visit him again soon?"

"Yes, I will let you know when his condition improves and he can have visitors. Will you be staying with the Weasleys during the rest of the holidays, Ms. Granger?"

"Yes," Hermione and Ron replied together.

"All right, then I will fire-call you when he recovers," Minerva promised, before she led her students back to the fireplace.

When she re-entered Harry's room two minutes later, she just caught a glimpse of a child hurrying through the door to Severus' quarters. '_Am I seeing things as well?_' she thought while she threw a glance on the child's bed, but sure enough it was empty.

_tbc…_

* * *

_Thanks to Granger21 for beta-ing! However, as I am not a native speaker of English, you might still find mistakes – sorry for that! _

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Minerva hurried over to Severus' quarters, concern written over her face. '_I just hope he didn't forget everything again_,' she thought, following the child, who, to her great astonishment, toddled over to the bathroom. "Harry, where are you going?" she asked worriedly, placing an arm around the child's shoulders.

"Dragons breathed ice on me, am so cold, need hot shower," Harry mumbled, obviously captured in his fever dream.

"No Harry, you must go back to bed," Minerva told the child quickly and coaxed him to accompany her back to his room, where he crawled back into bed willingly. While Harry settled down again, Minerva unobtrusively waved her wand around his bed, placing a Charm on the area that would prevent Harry from leaving his bed again. Then she left the child for a minute and urgently called Poppy, knowing that Severus couldn't be disturbed since he was brewing the Wolfsbane potion for Remus and already had to start a second time.

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Later the same evening, Minerva was sitting next to Harry's bed, already half asleep, when Severus entered the room, looking very satisfied. "Did you finish your potion?" Minerva asked, smiling at the pleased expression on her colleague's face.

"Yes, Minerva, it only has to simmer for another sixteen hours, then it's finished. How are you faring, Minerva? You look extremely tired. And how is Harry?"

Minerva sighed and told her that Harry's condition had become worse again. "Oh Severus, it's so hard to see him like this all the time. We have become so close to him now, and I already love him as if he was my own, but every time you think he is all right, something else happens. And to think that he might lose his memory again and doesn't remember anything…" The tears that had been welling in her eyes while she spoke started to run down her cheeks.

Severus gave his normally very composed colleague a piercing look, noticing that her cheeks very slightly flushed and her eyes seemed a bit dull. He carefully put an arm around her shoulders. "Minerva, please stop crying. You won't help Harry if you make yourself ill. You aren't feeling well today, are you?"

"No Severus, but it's all right, I only have a bad headache. I'm just so sorry for the child…" She slowly trailed off when a slender hand found its way to her forehead and unconsciously tried to lean into the cool touch.

"No Minerva, you don't only have a headache. You have a fever again, and you have to calm down immediately if you don't want me to call Poppy."

"No Severus, don't!" Minerva shouted, getting very upset.

Severus fetched the thermometer form Harry's night table, threw a Scourgify spell on it, and handed it to his colleague. "No Severus, I'm fine," she said stubbornly.

Severus sighed and snatched back the thermometer. "Open up or I will call Poppy," he threatened, sticking the thing under her tongue as soon as he opened her mouth to contradict.

Lacking the energy of fighting back, Minerva tiredly leaned into the arm he had once more put around her shoulders. "38.5," Severus finally stated before he quickly waved his wand at his colleague. "You must rest, Minerva. You know that your fever is a result from working and worrying too much. Go and stay in bed until I tell you. I don't want to see you near Harry until you and he are much better," he said sternly.

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Severus kept Minerva in bed for three days, until her fever and her headache were completely gone. Harry remained very ill for a week, but then his condition began to improve slowly. So far, he didn't have any more problems with memory lost, and the teachers eagerly waited for his temperature to drop below 38 degrees, so that Severus could give him the antidote again. One day, Harry was peacefully asleep, while Minerva was sitting in one of the chairs next to his bed, reading a book. From time to time, she gave the child a concerned look. Severus had informed her that he stayed half the night with the boy because he had breathing problems. Suddenly, Harry woke up, saw Minerva, and smiled. "Hello Minerva," he greeted her happily.

"Oh Harry, you sound as if you felt better today," Minerva stated, relieved.

"Yes, I feel much better. Um… I have a question," Harry said thoughtfully. "Is it true that I already finished all my homework? I mean… I know you told me, and Hermione told me as well, but… it's just… you know, it's so strange that I don't remember doing it."

Minerva noticed with concern that tears started to well in his eyes, ready to drop down any second. "It's all right, sweetie, you really did your homework, even twice. You gave everything to Severus and me to check, and we gave you a lot of advice how to improve your work, and you did all of your homework once more. Yes, my dear, everything is done very well, you don't have to worry about it."

"I did everything twice?" Harry asked unbelievingly.

"Yes, sweetie, you were very diligent. You even read through all your first and second year books twice and have studied Potions together with Severus."

"And I don't remember anything of it," Harry started to sob. The tears that had only be waiting for that sign began to run down freely, and Harry sobbed silently until his sobs turned into coughs.

"Harry, please stop it immediately. You will only make your condition worse, and then it'll take even longer until you can take the antidote once more. Please stop crying and let me take your temperature; as soon as your fever is gone, Severus can give you the potion, and maybe you'll even get your memories back."

Noticing that the tears caused his head to ache badly, Harry finally stopped crying and opened his mouth, leaning back tiredly while he waited. "It's a bit higher than yesterday, probably due to your crying," Minerva said finally. "Calm down and sleep a little more." She smiled at the unhappy child and tucked him in carefully.

"How can he be so moody? I mean, Harry isn't moody at all… normally," she added when she was talking to Severus later.

"Correct, Harry isn't moody. But it can be due to his illness or even because of the poison that is still lingering in his body. I just hope that we will get it out before school starts again," Severus replied thoughtfully.

"Before school starts?" Minerva asked horrified. "But that's still three weeks ahead."

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Two days later, Harry's condition had improved enough for Poppy to grudgingly allow Severus to give Harry the antidote. "I would prefer if you waited at least two days until his temperature is completely back to normal; however, I can understand your concern about another memory loss. Therefore, you may give him the potion today."

"All right, Poppy; however, I have to check his blood once more first to confirm that the poison is still present," Severus replied thoughtfully.

"Yes, of course," the Healer agreed and turned back to Harry, quietly talking to the child, while she took a few drops of blood from him. "All right, Harry, if you really feel well enough, you may get up for a while. But I want you to rest, and when Severus gives you the potion, you have to lie down again. Even if you didn't have any problems the last time, it can be different each time, and as the potion contains pure poison, it is very dangerous. I will come and check on you again later on."

"Harry, I could need some help with the timetables. Are you feeling well enough to help me in my office for a short while?" Minerva asked, giving the child a piercing look.

"Yes of course, Minerva," Harry replied, glad to be able to help one of his guardians, who had taken so much time for him during the summer, and quickly got up. He followed Minerva through her quarters into her office. '_Strange to enter this office from the opposite side_,' he thought, amused, and sat down in a chair in front of the desk.

"Here Harry, could you just compare these timetables and check if they don't collide with each other, please?" Minerva asked, handing him two piles of parchments. "One pile contains each class of Gryffindor and Slytherin, the other pile Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, and you have to make sure, for example, that they don't have Transfiguration at the same time."

"I understand, yes, no problem," Harry replied and set to work. He enjoyed his job very much and was nearly sad when Severus appeared just when he put down the last parchment and asked Minerva if he could do anything else.

"I would like you to take the antidote first, Harry," Severus said sternly, and Minerva agreed immediately.

"Thank you for your help, Harry, and I'll be glad if you could help me again later on, but you really should take your potion first."

"Can't I just take it here now?" Harry asked impatiently.

"No," Severus gave back, sighing. "Poppy has requested that you lie down after taking the antidote. You will stay in bed until lunchtime, and if everything is all right then, which I expect to be," he added calmingly, "then you may get up again. Minerva, can you sit with Harry until lunchtime, please? I urgently have to brew the flu potion for Pomona."

"Is she ill?" Minerva asked concerned.

"Yes, but it's all right, Poppy is looking after her," Severus replied, getting impatient.

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Ten minutes later, Harry had taken his potion and was lying in bed, talking with Minerva. Severus hurried to his private lab to start the potion, which would take an hour to brew, so that he should be able to finish it before Minerva and Harry called him for lunch. He had just bottled the potion into phials, when the pendant at his necklace suddenly heated up and the pendant's snake, which was charmed to speak to Severus in normal English instead of Parseltongue, told him, "The boy is close to dying if you don't hurry up and help him." Only an instant later, Severus could hear Minerva frantically calling for him.

Severus stormed into the child's room, where he arrived at the same time as Poppy. "He is burning up and is irresponsive," Minerva told them, panicking.

"He has a fever of nearly 42 degrees; we have to cool him down," Poppy said, while she transfigured the boy's bed into a bath tub. "He seems to be suffering from the poison, although I cannot understand why," she continued thoughtfully, absentmindedly sponging the child's hot face.

_tbc..._

* * *

_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes!_

_To all those, who urged me to write a sequel to my story "Harry's Primary School Experience"... I complied and wote a sequel: "Harry's Primary School Experience II" :-)_

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"Severus, are you sure that the potion was still all right?" Minerva enquired worriedly. "Maybe you would have had to brew the potion once more with fresh ingredients?"

Poppy and Severus shook their heads. "No Minerva, I'm sure about that."

"Can't you just give him the potion once more, so that it can neutralize the potion if he's really suffering from it?" Minerva kept asking.

"No Minerva. I'll have to check his blood first," Severus replied impatiently. He quickly took a few drops of blood from Harry and retired to his lab. An hour later, he came back and turned to Poppy. "It seems as if the poison that showed in his blood this morning hadn't really been there, and the new potion poisoned him. Maybe we just have to give it to him again. At the moment, his blood is full of basilisk poison."

"Severus, wait a moment and keep him cool. Minerva, go back to your quarters and rest. I will go to St. Mungo's to fetch someone with expertise in this area," Poppy gave back quickly and hurried to the fireplace. Thirty minutes later, she returned with a tall man in tow, whom she introduced to Severus as Healer Tanaka from St. Mungo's.

"I have already my suspicions, but may I please see the notes you made after taking his blood now and before you gave him the potion?" the healer asked gently.

"Of course," Severus replied and led the man into his private lab.

Five minutes later, the two men were back at Poppy's and Harry's side and Healer Tanaka quickly waved his wand over Harry, nodding contentedly. He cleared his throat and explained, "If basilisk poison gets into a person's blood and remains there for quite an amount of time, like in this case two months, part of it can become a permanent deposit in the blood. Therefore, I believe that the small amount of poison that Professor Snape found in the blood this morning was such a part of the poison that settled into his blood and became a permanent part of it. His body doesn't acknowledge it as an outside part anymore, and thus the new poison wasn't accepted as remedy for the older lingering amount of the poison but as new poison. You just have to give him the antidote again, and he should be fine."

"If that is so," Severus spoke up thoughtfully, "then why did his body accept the antidote when I gave it to him the last time?"

"That is obvious," Tanaka replied. "The poison was younger and not all of it had settled permanently, so that the potion worked against the unsettled poison."

"All right, Severus, let's give him the antidote," Poppy suggested.

Severus pulled a phial out of his robe pocket and spelled the content into Harry's stomach. Minutes later, during which they worriedly watched the child, the potion finally kicked in. Harry let out a relaxed sigh, and Poppy breathed relieved, "His fever is coming down; thank God."

"Thank you very much, Healer Tanaka," Severus said gratefully. "Just one more question, please. Harry already lost his recent memory twice and we thought that it was because of the basilisk poison lingering in his blood. Can this remaining poison can do him any more harm?"

The Healer cleared his throat. "First of all, you have to check his blood once more tomorrow morning. Please hand a copy of your findings to Healer Pomfrey and ask her to take it to me, so that I can look it over and see if we need to do anything else." Seeing that Severus and Poppy nodded their agreement, he continued, "The remaining poison can only have this effect of memory loss when his body is weakened because of an illness or an injury accompanied by a high fever. Has he been ill recently, at about the same time as the memory loss occurred?"

"Yes, he had a lung infection," Poppy confirmed.

Tanaka nodded. "Yes, under such circumstances it can occur again. You have to watch him closely, and even if he only has as much as a cold, you'll have to be careful that he doesn't get a high fever. There's nothing else you can do about it."

"So he won't get his memories back?" Poppy asked, sighing.

"Probably not."

While Poppy saw the healer out, Severus quickly strode over to Minerva to inform her about the news. Together, they returned into Harry's room and watched the child that was, for once, peacefully asleep. When Poppy returned an hour later to check on Harry, Minerva and Severus were just having a lively discussion about the question if they should inform Harry about the rests of poison in his body or not, since he hadn't been alert enough to listen to Healer Tanaka's explications earlier. "You cannot tell him; he will be so worried. He is already depressed thinking about all the facts he read about in his school books and already forgot. How will we be able to bring him to learn at all if he has to fear to forget everything before the next test?" Minerva asked.

"That's a completely wrong way of thinking, Minerva," Severus countered. "We have to inform him, so that he takes better care of himself or comes to us if he catches so much as a cold, so that he doesn't get sick enough for that to happen."

"I believe so too," Poppy agreed. "Moreover, we have to observe him closely, and we should also inform Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley and ask them to keep an eye on him all the time."

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Minerva and Severus decided to speak with Harry, but to wait at least a week to give him time to completely regain his health and enjoy his holidays. As soon as Poppy allowed him to get up, Harry began to read through his entire first and second year books once more, before he started to read his third year books, taking notes this time. '_Who knows if I'll lose my memory again_,' he thought anxiously. Besides reading his school books, however, Harry remembered his promise to Severus and Minerva to help them with the brewing of potions for the hospital wing and the preparations for the new school year. He enjoyed helping Minerva in her office, and he just loved to brew together with Severus.

A week before the beginning of the new school year, Severus spoke up during lunch. "Harry, please come into the living room for a moment. Minerva and I have something we wish to talk to you about."

'_That sounds so formal. Did I do something wrong?_' Harry thought concerned and shifted uncomfortably on his chair. He suddenly felt that he couldn't eat any more and quietly put down his fork.

"Harry, you don't have to worry, everything is all right," Severus said calmingly. "Now, eat up your lunch first."

Harry gave his guardian a relieved smile and continued to eat a little more. '_It's like having real parents_,' he thought once more.

"Harry, you know that school is going to start in a week. As you also know, we are only your temporary guardians until the end of the holidays," Severus began softly.

Harry gave him a sad look. "Yes, sir," he said quietly.

"Oh my, Harry, don't look so sad," Minerva said, and Harry noticed astonished that tears were welling in her eyes.

Severus cleared his throat. "Anyway, Minerva and I would like to ask you if you would want us to become your permanent guardians," he said, watching the child closely.

The man's soft, silky voice sounded like music in Harry's ears. '_They want to be my guardians, even if I'm such a burden and a freak and…_' Harry was over the moon with joy. "Would you…" He tried to swallow the lump that formed in his throat and continued, "Would you really do that, I mean stay my guardians permanently?"

"Harry, if we didn't want to do that, we wouldn't suggest it. We only want to know if you really want it," Minerva reassured him quickly.

"Yes, of course," Harry replied happily.

"Be careful, child. It's a different thing to have parents here at school and not only teachers," Severus warned him sternly, earning a laugh from Harry.

"Why? Will you take even more points from Gryffindor? Or will you assign more detentions?"

"No, but I will be much stricter towards you than towards the other students because as my son I expect much more from you," Severus told him sternly, but Harry could see that the edges of his mouth pulled slightly up.

Minerva didn't comment but pulled Harry in a bear's hug. "All right, then I suggest we go to the Dursleys tomorrow morning and let them sign the guardianship papers, so that we can apply for the permanent guardianship," Severus suggested.

"But what about Professor Dumbledore? Will he allow you to become my guardians?" Harry asked anxiously.

"Yes, Harry, he already knows that we intended to ask you, and after witnessing what happened to you this summer he agrees completely. I believe that he really regrets sending you to the Dursleys in the first place," Minerva told the child, smiling.

"Thank you very much, Minerva and Severus," Harry mumbled, trying to hold the tears back that welled in his eyes. "Sorry, but I'm so happy."

"All right, so in order to stop you from crying right in time, we have to tell you one more thing, which is a little more unpleasant," Severus replied. When Harry gave him an anxious look, he continued and explained what they had learned two weeks ago about the basilisk poison that was still in Harry's blood. "That means," he continued, "that you have to take care of yourself, and if you feel sick, you must come to us or go to see Poppy immediately. Do you understand me? This is important, especially as your lung and your immune system are damaged and you will probably get sick more often than before."

Harry sighed. '_Yes, I know, but stop fussing over me_,' he thought. "Yes, I'll be careful," he promised grudgingly.

"I know that Poppy gave you the inhaler, but if you have problems with your asthma during the night like last night, I want you to come over and wake me up. You know that both our quarters are charmed to let you in, and the entrance to Minerva's quarters is near your common room."

"I will show it to you in a few minutes. It's hidden so that the students can't find it and only know where my office is," Minerva added.

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During the last week, Minerva and Severus took Harry to different places all over the country. After their visit to the Dursleys, they headed to Diagon Alley as Severus and Harry needed new Potions ingredients, and Harry had to buy new robes. On the next day, his two guardians took him to the seaside, and Harry, who had never been to the sea, enjoyed the day very much. The next day was spent at the zoo, and Harry hesitantly told his guardians how he once had rescued a snake from the same zoo. Later that day, they received the confirmation letter from the ministry, confirming that Minerva and Severus were Harry's permanent guardians.

"Harry, we have to tell you something," Minerva spoke up, feeling very sorry to disturb Harry's happy feelings due to the change of the guardianship with bad news. They told the child about Sirius Black, his godfather, who had betrayed his parents.

"I promise that I will be very careful and won't go looking for him. When I find him I'll either kill him immediately or come to one of you," Harry promised.

"Very good, son," Severus commended. "Anyway, as that man is a real threat, we have decided that you will not board the Hogwarts Express this year. You will stay with us, and we'll go down to the Great Hall right in time when your classmates arrive, all right, Harry?"

"Yes, of course," Harry replied obediently.

"By the way, Harry, do you still want to watch the Pensieve?" Severus enquired.

"Hmm, I don't think it's necessary," Harry replied, "but on the other hand, why not?"

Severus placed the Pensieve in front of the child and entered together with his ward. When they came back, Harry looked at his guardians in awe thinking, '_Now I have parents and my own room at Hogwarts; and all that started just with a summer cold_.'

* * *

_The end… however, there will be a short Epilogue…_

_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes! _

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	12. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

On a Friday morning, a day before the first Hogsmeade weekend of the school year, the Great Hall burst with excitement. Harry was tiredly listening to his classmates babbling about Honeydukes, The Three Broomsticks, and Zonko's Joke Shop. "Harry, are you all right?" Hermione asked concerned, seeing that the boy was only pushing his food around the plate.

"Yes Hermione, sorry, I'm only tired. I had breathing problems during the night," Harry replied and got ready to leave the hall and head to his first class.

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Later the same day, Harry sat in the common room, listening to everyone's babbling about Hogsmeade again. "Where do you want to go first, Harry?" Ron suddenly asked.

Harry shrugged. "I don't really mind. I want to go to Honeydukes and buy a package of ginger nuts and some ginger chocolates for my guardians. Apart from that I don't care. You can figure something out, and I'll join you, but now I want to go to bed, I'm tired."

He walked up into his dormitory, glad that it was still empty. In the afternoon, he had noticed that his throat was getting sore, and in the meantime, his head had begun to hurt as well. '_Oh, please, I don't want to get sick again_,' he thought, '_especially not right before our first Hogsmeade weekend_.' He sighed and just wanted to change into his pyjamas, when he started to shiver and thought, '_Maybe I should take a hot shower_.' He dragged himself to the shower and stayed under the hot water until he could hardly keep his eyes open any more. He quickly put his pyjamas on and crawled into bed.

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At the same time, Severus walked through Harry's room and knocked at the door to Minerva's quarters. "Minerva, have you seen Harry today?" he asked quietly, entering her living room.

"First class in the morning, Severus, and in the Great Hall of course, why do you ask?" Minerva enquired, throwing him an astonished glance.

"I had him in my class in the afternoon, and noticed that his eyes were unfocused and a little glassy. I believe that he might be getting sick. We have to watch him closely at breakfast tomorrow."

"All right, Severus," Minerva replied, giving him a concerned look.

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Harry slept for a few hours, until he woke up coughing. He quickly pulled one of his Weasley sweaters over his head and retreated to the common room in order not to wake the other boys up.

Down in the common room, he glanced at his wrist watch, seeing that it was only two o'clock in the morning. However, he was so glad that he was able to breathe again thanks to his inhaler and was afraid to get problems once more if he lay down. He decided to get a head start on his homework and began to write his Potions homework. It was nearly five o'clock when he finished the essay. '_All right, Transfiguration is next_,' he decided and wrote until he heard that the first students were getting up. He returned to his dormitory and crawled back into bed until Ron woke him up in time for breakfast.

Harry followed his roommates down into the common room, where Hermione was already waiting. "Sorry, I forgot something," he said quickly and motioned for his friends to go ahead before he once more returned into his dormitory and pulled the warm Weasley sweater under his robes. Then he hurried after his friends, glad that they were still waiting for him in the common room.

Harry sat down between his friends and tried to eat a few bites of his breakfast, knowing that Hermione was watching him concerned. '_Maybe I should just stay in bed today instead of going to Hogsmeade_,' a small voice in the back of his mind spoke up, but Harry didn't want to miss his first Hogsmeade visit with his friends, even if he felt absolutely awful. His throat and head ached, and he felt hot and cold at the same time. '_As soon as we come back, I'll go to my own room in Minerva's and Severus' quarters and rest_,' he decided, when he suddenly heard Minerva's voice from behind.

"Mr. Potter, please come with me for a moment," she said sternly and walked ahead, leading him into her office.

Harry hesitantly followed her up the stairs and gave his guardian a questioning look when she motioned for him to sit down on the chair where he always sat when he helped her with her work during the holidays.

"Harry, are you feeling ill?" Minerva suddenly asked and gave him a piercing glance, noticing that his face was flushed, his eyes were dull and glassy, and small pearls of sweat were covering his forehead although the child seemed to be shivering.

"I'm fine," Harry answered impatiently. "Please, can I go? I want to go to Hogsmeade with the others." He nearly jumped when he felt a cool hand on his forehead.

"Let me take your temperature, Harry; if you don't have a fever, I'll let you go immediately."

"No!" Harry returned upset and jumped from his seat.

"Harry, sit down immediately and open your mouth," Minerva ordered him, taking a thermometer out of her robe pocket.

"No, I'm fine!" Harry shouted, noticing that his voice was getting hoarse.

"Harry, I don't have much time either; you can either comply now, or I have to ask Severus to attend to you," Minerva said sternly and made a step towards the fireplace.

"No, please don't!" Harry once more tried to shout but ended up in a coughing fit that Minerva used to stick the thermometer into his mouth.

"I don't know why you make such a fuss, Harry. Even from my place at the head table I could see that you're ill and in no condition to go to Hogsmeade," Severus told him sternly.

Harry jumped in fright. He hadn't even noticed that the professor had entered the room. "Careful, Harry," Severus admonished him, carefully putting the thermometer back in the correct position.

"39.2," Minerva read from the display. "Severus, can you please put him to bed? I have to go to the entrance hall to dismiss the students for Hogsmeade."

"Of course Minerva," Severus replied, scooping Harry up into his arms, and carried him into his room.

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A few hours later, Harry woke up, still feeling awful and glad that he didn't have to walk around Hogsmeade. "Harry, how are you feeling?" he could hear Severus' voice and lazily opened his eyes.

"Not too good," he whispered, leaning into the cool touch, when Severus laid a hand on his forehead.

"Harry, do you think you would have been in a condition to run around Hogsmeade?" Severus asked softly.

"No, sir, I'm sorry," Harry mumbled sleepily.

"I think you should better apologize to Minerva for being so naughty," he heard his guardian say gently, before he drifted off to sleep.

When Harry woke up the next time, Severus was grading essays at his desk, until Minerva entered the room and said, "Severus, go and have lunch, I'll watch Harry for a while."

Harry closed his eyes once more and thought happily, '_Even if I really hate these colds, it's great to have parents, who care_.'

**The End**

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Thanks for your many kind reviews that enticed me to write a longer story instead of my original one-shot!_

_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes! _

_All recognizable characters belong to __Mrs. Rowling__, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


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